P  R  T'^SKN  r  P  A  V   1  ■■  \'  \  \  '.if  f  -.  \ 
BY  J.  WILBUR  CHAPMAN.  D.  D. 

8ECRETABT     OF     THS     OEXEBaL    ABSSMBLY     COMMITTEE     o\ 
EVANQKUSTIC     WORK      FOB      THE      PBESBYTEBlA^      CHURCl 


E  D  I  T  1  O  X 

Is!?ucd  by  the  General  Assembly's  Committee  on 
Evangelistic  Work     ^     ^     ^     (Not  for  sale) 


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VERSE, 
CHAIRMAN 


PRESENT-DAY  EVANGELISM 


Presenr-Day 
Evangelism 


J.  WILBUR  UHAPXIAN 


XF^  YORX:  THE  BAKEH  ft  TMlWUM.  COl 

33-57  East  SrTxymsiii  Sr,,  TTtkxsv  Skj. 


Copyright,  1903,  By  The  Baker  &  Taylor  Co. 
Published,  April,  igoj 


To  Mr,  John  H,  Converse,  whose  gen- 
erous devotion  to  Christ  and  the  Church 
has  inspired  a  new  era  of  evangelism,  this 
hook  is  respectfully  dedicated. 

J,  W.  C, 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book  I  desire  to  ac- 
knowledge the  assistance  given  me  by  pastors 
and  evangelists,  and  also  wish  to  make  grateful 
mention  of  the  following  books  from  which 
quotations  have  been  made. 

The  Next  Great  Awakening. 

Evangelistic  Work. 

The  Working  Church. 

The  Pattern  Prayer  Book. 

Forward  Movements  of  the  Last  Half  Century. 

The  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  This  Gen- 
eration. 

Hints  on  Bible  Study. 

J.  W.  C. 


Contents 


I 

To-day's  Evangelism        .        .        ,        .13 

II 

The  Need  of  an  Awakening  .        .       30 

III 
Alone  with  God 39 

IV 
Right  with  God 45 

V 

Evangelism  and  the  Holy  Spirit    .         .      50 

VI 

Widening  the  Scope       ....      57 

VII 

Methods 66 

9 


lo  CONTENTS 

VIII 
The  Evangelistic  Pastor       •        •        .      75 

IX 

The  Evangelistic  Sermon      ...      89 

X 

The  Evangelistic  Church       .        ,        .      96 

XI 

The  Church  Service       ....     108 

XII 

The  After-Meeting        .        .        .        .124 

XIII 
Personal  Evangelism,  Winning  Souls     .     1 37 

XIV 

Personal  Workers'  Bands      .        .        .145 

XV 

Evangelism  for  the  Young    .        .        .     151 

XVI 

Responsibility  of  the  Laity  .        .        .168 

XVII 

The  Office  of  the  Evangelist      .         -     ^79 


CONTENTS  II 

XVIII 

The  Evangelist  in  Song         .        .        .192 

XIX 
Special  Evangelistic  Meetings      .        .    203 

XX 

Evangelism  in  Tents       .        .        .        .219 

XXI 

Evangelism  for  the  Outcast         .        .    227 

XXII 

Caring  for  Results        .        .        .        .233 

XXIII 
Conclusion 239 


Present-Day  Evangelism 


CHAPTER  I 


TO-DAY  S  EVANGELISM 


**  Evangelism  is  the  promulgation  of  the 
Gospel.  It  is  that  line  of  service  which  follows 
obedience  to  the  command  of  Christ.  It  is 
specific  and  earnest,  and  its  direct  aim  is  to  carry 
the  Gospel  tidings  to  every  creature  in  every 
land. 

Evangelism  is  simply  rolling  away  the  stone 
and  giving  the  dead  a  chance  to  hear  the  word 
of  life.  It  is  bringing  the  Evangel  or  Gospel 
into  contact  with  the  unsaved,  and  it  is  for  con- 
tact,  not  conversion,  that  the  Church  is  respon- 
sible. We  are  to  do  our  part  and  leave  God  to 
do  his.  "1 

Every  child  of  God  may  truly  say  "  Christ  sent 
me  to  evangelize^"  and  to  evangelize  is  the  first 
duty  in  the  order  of  time,  for  there  must  be 

*  Evangelistic  Work. 
13 


14     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

believers  to  be  baptized  and  converts  to  become 
believers  in  order  to  form  the  Church. 

"  It  is  first  in  the  order  of  importance,  for  it  is 
accession  and  growth  that  keep  the  Church  in 
being.  Everything  therefore,  both  as  to  acces- 
sions and  enlargement  of  the  Church  of  God 
hangs  on  evangelizing  men."  ^  Under  this  defi- 
nition and  its  enlargement  may  be  described  all 
the  aggressive  work  of  the  past. 

Bounded  on  the  one  side  by  Pentecost  the 
other  boundary  is  to-day,  and  in  all  of  this 
stretch  of  time  there  must  be  included  the  work 
of  the  apostles,  the  church  fathers,  the  martyrs 
and  heroes  of  other  days,  the  faithful  pastors, 
whose  quiet,  earnest,  and  ofttimes  unheralded 
work  has  meant  the  permanent  growth  of  the 
Church ;  the  consecrated  evangelists  like  Finney, 
Moody,  Whittle,  Earl,  Needham  and  others, 
now  in  the  presence  of  God,  all  these  together 
with  a  host  of  others  still  living,  whose  ministry 
has  meant  a  multitude  of  souls  for  Christ.  The 
special  agencies  of  the  Church  must  not  be  for- 
gotten, such  as  Rescue  Missions,  the  Salvation 
Army,  the  Volunteers,  the  Young  Men's  and  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations,  and  the 

I "  Evangelistic  Work." 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  15 

Young  People's  Societies,  all  these  together  have 
made  a  glorious  history. 

"  The  progress  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  strikingly  depicted  by  the  pen  of  John,  the 
Disciple  of  Love.  The  attractive  story  of  the 
multiplication  of  the  disciples  runs  through  all 
his  writings,  Hke  a  thread  of  gold  running 
through  an  exquisite  fabric  of  the  loom.  I  call 
you  to  follow  the  progress  of  the  growth  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  John's  writings.  First  there 
was  only  one  man  who  believed  in  Jesus ;  John 
the  Baptist.  Then  we  read  of  two;  then  of 
three;  then  of  four;  then  of  five;  then  of 
twelve ;  then  of  seventy ;  then  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty;  then  of  five  hundred;  then  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand ;  and 
then  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  and 
thousands  of  thousands,  a  great  multitude  which 
no  man  can  number,  all  singing,  *  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and 
riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  blessing.'  Truly  the  pathway  of 
the  Christian  Church  as  depicted  by  the  Disciple 
of  Love,  in  Gospel  and  in  Epistles  and  in 
Apocalypse,  is  a  pathway  of  triumph  which  leads 
to  perfection.     We  cannot  but  praise  God  that 


i6     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

we  are  part  of  the  Christian  Church  which  is 
ascending  the  steeps  of  light  to  its  eternal 
destiny."  * 

Present-day  evangelism  is  just  the  adaptation 
of  the  principles  of  which  the  above  is  a  defini- 
tion to  the  times  in  which  we  live. 

Truth  never  changes,  it  is  always  the  same, 
but  the  adaptation  and  application  of  truth  may 
be  a  matter  of  times  and  seasons. 

The  evangelism  of  the  present  day  must  be 
the  evangelism  of  the  first  century  or  it  is  not 
true  to  Christ  and  his  word. 

Many  people  are  asking  with  intense  interest 
the  question,  "  Is  there  to  be  another  awaken- 
ing?" 

The  question  is  timely,  not  only  because  we 
have  just  fairly  entered  upon  a  new  century  but 
because  the  need  is  simply  appalling.  Of  this 
we  may  be  assured  if  we  but  open  our  eyes  to 
take  note  of  the  progress  of  sin  and  indifference, 
the  decrease  in  many  places  of  Church  attend- 
ance and  the  lack  of  interest  shown  in  certain 
parts  of  our  country  in  those  things  which  con- 
tribute to  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.     There  are  quite  as  many  to-day,  however, 

» Rev.  David  Gregg,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


TO-DAY»S    EVANGELISM  17 

who  optimistically  view  the  situation  at  large 
and  answer  the  inquiry  above  made  with  an 
emphatic  affirmative. 

During  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and  eight- 
eenth centuries  as  well  as  in  certain  parts  of  the 
nineteenth  century  there  were  powerful  awaken- 
ings, whole  nations  were  moved  by  the  power  of 
God,  "  but  these  movements  differed  widely  in 
character,  in  method,  and  in  the  conditions  from 
which  they  sprang ;  some  of  them  had  political 
as  well  as  religious  elements,  whose  causes  were 
complex  and  remote ;  and  yet  the  study  of  them 
reveals  the  fact  that  each  of  these  great  religious 
awakenings  came  in  connection  with  the  preach- 
ing of  a  neglected  Scriptural  truth  which  was 
precisely  adapted  to  the  peculiar  needs  of  the 
times."  1 

Since,  therefore,  it  is  true  that  every  awaken- 
ing has  had  its  distinguishing  characteristic,  this 
better  day  which  is  believed  to  be  dawning  must 
have  its  peculiar  mark. 

I  cannot  but  think  that  with  all  that  may  be 
accomplished  by  pastors  and  evangelists  that 
the  great  work  of  this  new  day  is  to  be  the 
winning  of  the  individual  by  the  individual,  or  to 

» "  The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


i8     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

put  it  in  another  way,  Personal  Evangelism  is  to 
be  the  key-note  of  our  present  work. 

It  is  quite  generally  acknowledged  that  during 
the  past  few  years  evangelistic  methods  in  gen- 
eral have  been  under  the  fire  of  criticism.  In 
some  cases  this  criticism  has  been  unjust,  in 
other  instances  it  has  been  only  what  might  have 
been  expected.  Out  of  this,  however,  we  are 
coming  to  a  better  service  for  Christ  than  we 
have  known  for  years. 

It  is  also  equally  true  that  until  recently — there 
has  been  a  real  sag  in  the  evangelistic  spirit  of 
the  Church.  That  this  is  true,  has  been  in  part 
due  to  the  fact  that  pastors  in  some  instances 
have  not  realized  their  evangelistic  gifts,  in  other 
cases  they  have  failed  to  exercise  the  gift  that 
was  in  them,  for  many  more  pastors  by  far,  than 
we,  or  even  they  imagine,  could  preach  along 
evangelistic  lines  with  telling  effect. 

The  ineffectiveness  of  some  is  due  to  the  lack 
of  training  in  the  seminary,  which  is  alas  too 
often  true,  for  with  all  that  the  seminaries  have 
accomplished,  and  their  mission  has  been  truly 
wonderful  and  greatly  owned  of  God,  there  is 
scarcely  a  theological  seminary  in  the  land  to-day 
but  is  defective  in  the  matter  of  the  training  of 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  19 

evangelists  or  the  assisting  of  theological  stu- 
dents in  the  development  and  exercise  of  evan- 
gelistic gifts. 

The  failure  of  others  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  have  not  realized  the  responsibility  resting 
upon  them  for  this  particular  form  of  service; 
and  unless  there  is  an  awakening  along  this 
special  Hne  the  judgment  upon  those  who  have 
failed  will  be  sharp  indeed. 

Again  this  sag  in  the  spirit  of  evangelism  has 
been  in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Church  has 
exercised  little  or  no  care  in  the  training  of 
evangelists.  While  here  and  there  throughout 
our  country  there  are  institutions,  like  the  Bible 
Institute  in  Chicago,  which  have  had  actually  to 
contend  for  existence,  still  it  is  true  that  the 
Church  has  done  practically  nothing  for  the 
evangelist.  He  has  gone  forth  frequently  un- 
trained, at  times  unwisely,  to  exercise  his  min- 
istry, but  he  has  been  almost  entirely  without 
oversight  and  too  often  without  sympathy  where 
sympathy  was  really  deserved.  In  frequent  in- 
stances because  of  his  conviction  that  he  ought 
to  preach  the  Gospel  as  an  evangelist  he  has 
been  obliged  with  real  distress  to  himself  to 
maintain  his  position. 


20     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

There  would  be  fewer  unskilled  men  in  the 
field  to-day  as  evangelists  and  far  less  of  those 
who  bring  the  office  into  disrepute,  did  only  the 
Church  exercise  her  authority  in  training,  in 
oversight,  and  even  in  discipline.  But  a  brighter 
day  is  coming.  We  can  already  behold  the 
morning  star  which  heralds  the  day  and  indeed 
the  horizon  is  brightening  with  indications  of  a 
coming  victory. 

Then  too  evangelistic  meetings  in  the  past 
have  frequently  been  considered  an  end  rather 
than  a  means  to  an  end.  This  is  almost  a  fatal 
error.  Admirable  as  such  meetings  are  in  them- 
selves, their  chief  value  lies  in  the  fact  that  they 
arouse  dormant  energies,  deepen  convictions,  and 
provoke  to  enthusiastic  service.  If  they  fail  at 
these  points  they  yield  a  poor  return  for  the 
investment  of  money,  time  and  effort. 

Yet  after  all  what  is  needed  in  our  country  to- 
day is  not  so  much  a  successful  evangelistic 
meeting  here  or  there  but  a  general  awaken- 
ing. 

Indeed  it  is  revivals  alone  which  advance  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  evangelistic  meetings  only 
save  us  from  disastrous  declensions. 

It  is  almost  certain,  however,  that  the  coming 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  21 

awakening  will  move  along  somewhat  different 
lines  from  those  of  the  past.  It  is  no  repudiation 
of  the  methods  of  the  past,  that  to-day  the  em- 
phasis has  been  in  part  shifted.  Dr.  Josiah 
Strong  in  commenting  upon  the  awakenings 
of  other  days,  has  well  said,  "  Be  it  observed, 
Moody  did  not  repeat  the  message  of  Finney, 
nor  did  Finney  repeat  that  of  Wesley,  nor 
Wesley  that  of  the  Puritans,  nor  did  the  Puri- 
tans simply  reiterate  the  great  doctrine  of  Luther 
and  the  Reformation.  Each  dealt  more  or  less 
with  the  great  body  of  Christian  truth,  of  course, 
but  each  had  a  distinctive  message,  which  was 
peculiarly  adapted  to  his  own  times  and,  there- 
fore, made  God  real  to  the  men  of  his  generation. 
Nor  did  the  prophet  of  one  age  employ  the 
methods  of  his  predecessors.  Though  the  sub- 
stance was  the  same,  the  form  and  method  were 
new  because  the  times  were  new.  The  men  who 
to-day  expect  to  reproduce  Moody's  results  by 
reproducing  his  message  and  his  methods  will 
fail  completely  as  Moody  would  have  failed,  if  he 
had  been  a  mere  imitation  of  Finney.  Such  men 
as  the  author  of '  Ecce  Homo  '  says,  are  plagia- 
rists rather  than  prophets.  The  true  prophet 
sees  God  in  his  own  times  and  in  relation  to  the 


22     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

peculiar  needs  of  his  own  day,  and  thus  makes 
others  see  him."  ^ 

In  a  conference  of  Christian  workers  not  long 
ago  an  aged  minister  said,  "  I  revere  the  mem- 
ories of  the  great  evangelists  and  yet  as  I  recall 
the  crowds  attending  their  meetings,  the  music 
of  the  great  choirs  and  the  high  pitch  of  enthu- 
siasm aroused,  I  must  admit  I  think  of  them  all 
with  a  feeling  akin  to  horror." 

I  confess  I  heard  him  with  a  feeling  beyond 
horror.  Who  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  meet- 
ings conducted  by  Mr.  Moody  in  the  Hippo- 
drome in  New  York,  the  Grand  Depot  in  Phila- 
delphia, or  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  when  in  all 
of  these  places  for  weeks  he  preached  the  pre- 
cious Gospel  and  lived  himself  the  most  wonder- 
ful exemplification  of  the  doctrines  he  taught. 
Who  can  estimate  the  stimulating  influence 
given  to  the  Church  through  these  agencies,  the 
inspiration  imparted  to  ministers,  the  object  les- 
sons to  the  community  and  the  value  of  the  souls 
won,  many  of  whom  I  personally  know  and  hosts 
of  whom  are  preaching  the  Gospel  throughout 
the  world. 

Study  history  and  you  will  find  that  about  every 

» ««  The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  23 

one  hundred  years  God  has  raised  up  for  him- 
self a  special  representative  along  some  distinct- 
ive lines  for  the  strengthening  of  our  faith.  In 
the  truest  sense  D.  L.  Moody  was  that  man  for 
his  generation,  and  a  countless  host  rises  up  to- 
day to  call  his  memory  blessed. 

Who  can  tell  what  the  condition  of  the  Church 
or  her  ministers  might  have  been  if  his  voice  had 
not  been  heard,  if  his  glorious  ministry  had  not 
been  exercised?  But  is  there  a  change  being 
wrought  in  evangelistic  methods  ?  This  ques- 
tion is  in  the  minds  of  many. 

The  days  of  great  meetings  are  not  over,  of 
this  we  are  confident.  What  greater  blessing 
could  come  to  a  community  than  that  all  the 
forces  of  the  Church  should  enter  upon  an  ag- 
gressive campaign  against  the  devil,  in  many 
cases  this  is  essential,  to  be  indifferent  to  it  is  to 
imperil  the  best  interests  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  day  for  the  evangelist  is  certainly  not  past. 
He  has  never  been  more  needed  than  to-day. 
The  calls  for  his  services  are  loud  and  clear,  yet 
it  will  never  be  possible  to  accomplish  the  evan- 
gelistic work  of  the  Church  depending  upon  his 
services  alone. 

The  days  of  union  meetings  have  not  passed 


24     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

simply  because  certain  denominations  have  with 
authority  taken  decided  action  with  reference  to 
aggressive  evangelism,  but  beyond  all  question  it 
is  true  that  in  the  present  day  evangelism  the 
emphasis  is  to  be  placed, 

First:  On  Pastoral  Evangelism,  and  more 
and  more  God  seems  to  be  teaching  us  that  the 
man  who  has  been  called  to  preach  and  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Church  is  in  every  part  of  his 
service  to  be  a  winner  of  souls. 

Second  :  Upon  Personal  Evangelism.  Since 
it  is  true  that  the  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Church  have  never  won  a  soul  to  Christ,  the 
emphasis  placed  here  is  most  timely.  The  in- 
difference of  the  Church  to  the  winning  of  souls 
is  positively  shocking.  The  fact  that  so  many 
people  have  it  to  say  to  their  shame  that  they 
have  never  given  themselves  to  the  work  of 
winning  souls  to  Christ,  is  almost  a  proof  that 
they  are  themselves  unregenerate.  One  trem- 
bles when  he  thinks  of  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ  and  a  great  multitude  standing  in  his 
presence  empty  handed. 

"  Must  I  go  an  empty  handed, 
Must  I  meet  my  Saviour  so, 
Not  one  soul  with  which  to  greet  him, 
Must  I  empty  handed  go  ?  " 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  25 

The  time  is  coming  when  business  men  must 
seek  to  win  their  business  associates. 

Two  business  men  regularly  made  their  way 
into  the  city  of  Boston  from  Lowell,  one  a 
Christian,  the  other  not ;  for  almost  twenty  years 
they  had  occupied  the  same  seat  in  the  train.  In 
the  providence  of  God  they  were  both  dying  the 
same  day,  and  the  man  who  was  not  a  Christian 
said,  "  Is  it  not  strange  that  my  friend  knew  I 
was  not  a  Christian,  and  in  our  twenty  years  of 
acquaintance  having  discussed  innumerable  sub- 
jects, he  has  never  spoken  to  me  about  Christ  ?  " 

Parents  must  be  interested  in  their  children's 
conversion. 

I  overheard  a  Christian  worker  pleading  with 
a  boy  to  come  to  Christ.  His  mother  was  a 
leader  in  the  Church  and  his  father  an  officer  in 
the  Church.  Every  attempt  was  useless,  and 
when  pressed  to  give  a  reason  for  his  indiffer- 
ence, the  boy  said,  "  Neither  my  father  nor  my 
mother  have  asked  me  to  come  to  Christ,  and  I 
cannot  come." 

Third :  This  new  day  is  to  be  distinguished 
by  particular  emphasis  being  placed  upon  the 
training  of  evangelists.  That  there  are  men 
who  have  evangelistic  gifts  is  unquestioned ;  that 


26     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

they  ought  to  go  forth  to  proclaim  the  Gospel 
to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth  is  equally  true ; 
that  they  ought  to  be  trained  is  certainly  a 
position  about  which  there  can  be  no  argument ; 
that  the  Church  owes  it  to  her  Lord  to  properly 
prepare  these  men  can  be  proven  by  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  this  is  coming  with  the  new  evan- 
gelistic spirit  in  the  Church. 

Fourth :  Emphasis  is  being  placed  upon  Bible 
study. 

*'  Haydon  painted  a  picture  of  Christ's  entry 
into  Jerusalem  on  the  ass.  It  hangs  to-day  in 
the  Catholic  Cathedral  in  Cincinnati.  Into  it  he 
introduced  two  figures  in  addition  to  the  main 
subject — Wordsworth  and  Voltaire — the  one 
bending  in  reverence,  the  other  tossing  his  head 
in  scorn.  The  peculiarity  of  the  picture  is  that 
whether  intended  or  not,  the  reverential  figure 
bends  so  low,  and  the  scornful  figure  poses  itself 
so  loftly,  that  neither  can  see  the  object  of  their 
respective  emotions.  It  was  to  me  a  parable  of 
how  two  opposite  classes  of  men  miss  the 
gracious  wealth  of  the  Scriptures.  Beware  of 
that  mock  reverence  which  hides  God's  Word 
by  denying  the  right  of  reason  to  investigate 
and  to  inquire.     But  beware  equally  of  that  self- 


TO-DAY'S    EVANGELISM  27 

confident  and  irreverent  rationalism  which  is  not 
lowly  enough  to  see  God's  treasures  before  its 
eyes.  There  is  a  one-eyed  scepticism  as  well  as 
a  one-eyed  faith.  God  gave  us  two  eyes.  Open 
them  both,  my  friends ;  you  will  see  more  and 
better."  1 

But  the  devotional  study  is  essential  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  evangelistic  spirit. 

"  We  must  feed  on  the  Word.  Read  it  on 
your  knees.  Let  the  atmosphere  of  the  Spirit 
surround  it  and  you.  Ponder  as  you  read. 
Turn  up  all  the  references,  and  bring  the 
passages  together.  Who  does  not  know  the 
kind  of  heavenly  illumination  which  soon  begins 
to  play  upon  the  page,  the  gentle  dew  which 
soon  begins  to  fall  on  the  spirit,  as  verse  after 
verse  is  set  in  the  light  of  the  soul's  need  and 
bathed  in  the  rays  of  the  Son  of  Righteousness ! 
When  you  are  reading  in  this  way  keep  praying 
—turn  your  eye  from  the  Book  to  God,  from 
God  back  to  the  Book.  Realize  that  it  is  his 
way  of  conversing  with  you.  When  you  are 
reading  in  this  way,  do  not  stop  at  the  diffi- 
culties ;  go  by  them.  It  is  of  no  use  to  stop  in 
your  approach  to  God  because  you  see  a  boulder 

»  "  How  to  study  the  Bible." 


28     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

in  the  way,  or  because  a  swollen  brook  crosses 
the  path.  Press  on ;  let  the  boulder  alone ;  look 
a  moment  and  you  will  see  stepping-stones  across 
the  brook."  ^ 

Fifth :  The  Prayer  Life  is  being  emphasized, 
for  we  have  come  to  appreciate  that  which  has 
been  true  in  all  the  ages  of  the  Church,  that  by 
the  cultivation  of  the  spirit  of  prayer  men  have 
come  to  know  God's  plan  and  have  been  equipped 
with  power  to  carry  it  out. 

Sixth :  The  Church  is  being  awakened  to  the 
necessity  of  caring  for  her  own,  for  as  a  matter 
of  fact  it  is  true  that  if  to-day  we  simply  had 
our  own  our  buildings  would  not  be  large 
enough,  not  a  denomination  but  what  would 
have  to  tear  down  and  build  larger.  The  popu- 
lation of  Manhattan  is  1,931,162;  the  Church 
membership  is  695,942;  on  a  pleasant  Sunday 
in  November,  1902,451,731  people  were  in  at- 
tendance upon  the  Church,  and  the  houses  of 
worship  were  fairly  well  filled,  and  yet  in  this 
part  of  New  York  it  has  been  proven  that  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  people  who  were  Chris- 
tians have  not  darkened  the  doors  of  the  Church 
since  they  have  taken  up  their  residence  in  the 
»  "  How  to  Study  the  Bible." 


TO-DAY'S   EVANGELISM  29 

great   city,  and   if  they  did  they  could  not  be 
seated. 

It  is  one  thing  to  win  souls  to  Christ,  it  is 
quite  another  thing  to  help  build  up  these  souls 
into  Christ.  What  is  needed  to-day  said  Henry 
Van  Dyke,  is  not  so  much  a  minister  to  draw  as 
a  Church  to  hold.  It  is  believed  that  the  new 
evangelism  will  bring  this  to  pass. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  NEED   OF  AN  AWAKENING 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  discuss 
the  awakenings  of  the  past,  they  are  a  part  of 
our  Church  history,  with  which  any  one  may 
easily  familiarize  himself.  The  briefest  outline, 
however,  may  at  least  be  suggestive. 

There  was  the  awakening  of  the  sixteenth 
century  called  the  German  Reformation  under 
the  leadership  of  Luther. 

The  awakening  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
known  as  the  Puritan  Revival,  in  which  the  doc- 
trine of  God's  sovereignty  was  necessarily  pre- 
sented. 

During  the  awakening  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, with  Wesley  and  Whitfield  as  leaders,  the 
Church  was  in  a  sad  state. 

Religion  had  lost  all  spirituality.  Isaac  Tay- 
lor calls  the  Church  of  this  period,  "  a  fair 
carcass ; "  and  Blackstone  says  that  he  went  to 
hear  every  preacher  of  note  in  London  and  that 
there  was  not  one  whose  discourse  indicated 
30 


THE    NEED    OF   AN    AWAKENING    31 

whether  he  was  a  follower  of  Confucius,  or  of 
Mohammed,  or  of  Christ.  Religion  seemed  to 
consist  in  its  outward  and  formal  observances. 
The  great  spiritual  truths  of  Christianity  were 
neglected.  There  was  a  profound  lack  of  spirit- 
ual earnestness.  The  teachers  of  religion  had 
little  experience  of  its  power.  Wesley  himself 
had  been  in  the  ministry  thirteen  years,  and  had 
served  as  a  missionary  in  Georgia  for  two  years 
before  he  had  a  deep  experience  of  the  spiritual 
truths  of  the  gospel.  He  tells  us  in  the  journal 
of  his  homeward  voyage  that  he  "  who  went  to 
America  to  convert  others  was  never  himself 
converted  to  God."  ^ 

The  awakening  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
the  first  half  of  which  Finney  was  the  leader  and 
man's  free  agency  was  prominently  preached. 

In  the  latter  half,  D.  L.  Moody  was  the  leader 
with  the  love  of  God  as  his  theme. 

The  history  of  American  revivals  began  be- 
fore the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  then 
followed  the  great  awakening  in  New  England, 
under  the  leadership  of  Jonathan  Edwards.  It 
was  during  this  time  that  the  preaching  of  Whit- 
field was  such  a  factor  for  good. 

» "  The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


32     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

During  the  next  era  the  leaders  were  Dr. 
Griffin,  President  Dwight,  and  others,  and  later 
on  came  such  representative  revivaHsts  as  Nettle- 
ton  and  Finney. 

The  next  special  era  was  that  which  embraces 
the  work  of  Mr.  Moody,  and  without  reference 
to  him  and  his  work,  no  book  on  revivals  in  gen- 
eral or  present  day  evangelism  in  particular 
would  be  complete. 

We  are  now  well  past  the  threshold  of  the 
twentieth  century  and  in  many  parts  of  the 
Church  we  are  being  asked,  "  Is  there  to  be  dur- 
ing the  twentieth  century  a  great  religious  awak- 
ening such  as  occurred  in  the  sixteenth,  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  in  both  the 
first  and  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  ?  " 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  ask  if  an  awakening 
is  needed.  This  is  apparent  on  every  side.  It 
is  more  fitting  that  we.  should  try  to  determine 
what  sort  of  an  awakening  is  to-day  an  absolute 
necessity.  Beyond  doubt  we  are  all  of  us  agreed 
that  it  must  be  world  wide  in  its  scope.  It  is 
needed  in  America,  but  elsewhere  too. 

"  I  have  it  on  the  authority  of  two  leading 
German  pastors,  that  only  four  per  cent,  of  the 
population  of  the  great  towns  in  Germany  ever 


THE   NEED   OF  AN   AWAKENING   33 

go  to  or  enter  a  place  of  worship.  How  many 
of  that  four  per  cent,  have  life  in  Christ  ?  "  ^ 

In  the  annual  letter  of  the  Yorkshire  Con- 
vention of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  which  the 
condition  of  England  is  discussed,  it  is  declared, 
"  We  are  faced  by  a  practical  paganism  which 
finds  its  nourishment  in  an  unparalleled  increase 
of  wealth,  and  which  under  a  thin  veneer  of 
Christian  phraseology  is  debasing  our  civiliza- 
tion." 

Canon  Hensley  Henson,  in  his  paper  read  be- 
fore the  Church  Congress  which  recently  con- 
cluded its  session  at  Northampton  says,  "  A 
Spirit  is  abroad  amongst  us  which  threatens  the 
basis  of  social  order.  It  is  a  spirit  of  lawless- 
ness, a  hunger  at  the  hearts  of  men — a  law  of 
anarchy.  It  pervades  our  literature,  degrades 
our  politics,  disturbs  our  streets,  defiles  our 
homes!  "2 

Just  what  sort  of  an  awakening  is  needed  ? 

First :  There  must  be  an  awakening  in  the 
matter  of  Bible  study.  Because  of  the  recent 
experience  of  the  Churches  in  the  discussion  of 
creeds  very  many  people  have  been  unsettled  as 


» "  A  Revival  Call  to  the  Churches." 
'  «  A  Revival  Call  to  the  Churches." 


34    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

to  their  faith,  and  since  there  has  been  a  disposi- 
tion to  question  the  integrity  of  the  Scriptures, 
some  have  given  up  the  careful  and  prayerful 
study  of  the  Bible.  Others  have  lived  incon- 
sistent lives  and  inconsistency  always  blinds  the 
reader  to  the  beauty  of  the  word  of  God.  Still 
others  have  been  positively  indifferent.  There 
never  can  be  an  awakening  until  we  go  back  to 
the  faithful  study  of  the  Bible,  and  reverently 
approach  it  as  God's  divine  revelation  to  a  lost 
and  ruined  race. 

Second:  There  must  be  an  awakening  in 
the  matter  of  prayer. 

"  The  pivot  of  piety  is  prayer.  A  pivot  is  of 
double  use ;  it  acts  as  a  fastener  and  as  a  centre ; 
it  holds  in  place,  and  it  is  the  axis  of  revolution. 
Prayer  is  also  the  double  secret ;  it  keeps  stead- 
fast in  faith,  and  it  helps  to  all  holy  activity. 
Hence  as  surely  as  God  is  lifting  his  people  in 
these  latter  times  to  a  higher  level  of  spirituality, 
and  moving  them  to  a  more  unselfish  and  self- 
denying  service,  there  will  be  new  emphasis  laid 
upon  supplication,  and  especially  upon  inter- 
cession. 

"  This  revival  of  the  praying-spirit,  if  not  first 
in  order  of  development,  is  first  in  order  of  im- 


THE    NEED    OF   AN   AWAKENING   35 

portance,  for  without  it  there  is  no  advance. 
Generally,  if  not  uniformly,  prayer  is  both  start- 
ing-point and  goal  to  every  movement  in  which 
are  the  elements  of  permanent  progress.  When- 
ever the  Church  is  aroused  and  the  world's 
wickedness  arrested  somebody  has  been  praying. 
If  the  secret  history  of  all  true  spiritual  advance 
could  be  written  and  read,  there  would  be  found 
some  intercessors  who,  like  Job,  Samuel,  Daniel, 
Elijah,  Paul  and  James,  like  Jonathan  Edwards, 
William  Carey,  George  Miller  and  Hudson 
Taylor,  have  been  led  to  shut  themselves  in  the 
secret  place  with  God,  and  have  labored  fer- 
vently in  prayers.  And,  as  the  starting-point  is 
thus  found  in  supplication  and  intercession,  so 
the  final  outcome  must  be  that  God's  people 
shall  have  learned  to  pray ;  otherwise  there  will 
be  rapid  reaction  and  disastrous  relapse  from  the 
better  conditions  secured."  ^ 

Third:  There  must  be  a  revival  of  family 
religion.  A  missionary  who  had  been  absent 
from  this  country  for  twenty-five  years,  not  hav- 
ing accepted  his  furloughs,  was  asked  on  his  re- 
turn what  impressed  him  most  in  America.  He 
did  not  say  the  marvellous  inventions,  nor  the 

»  "  Forward  Movement  in  the  Last  Half  Century." 


36     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

rapid  progress  made  in  the  matter  of  education 
and  benevolence,  but  declared  that  that  which 
impressed  him  most  was  the  decadence  of  re- 
hgion  in  the  family  life.  When  he  left  America, 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  he  said  there  was 
hardly  a  home  without  a  family  altar,  that  since 
he  had  returned  he  had  hardly  found  one  with 
this  source  of  blessing.  This  is  a  horrible  con- 
dition of  affairs. 

Fourth :  There  must  be  an  awakening  in  the 
matter  of  benevolence.  Let  us  not  be  deceived 
by  the  fact  that  the  Church  is  in  such  a  health- 
ful condition  because  her  benevolences  have  been 
so  munificent,  for  the  giving  has  been  confined 
practically  to  a  few  and  the  offerings  of  the  many 
have  been  selfishly  withheld.  Forget  it  not  that 
it  is  when  we  bring  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse 
that  he  will  pour  out  his  blessing  upon  us. 

Fifth  :  There  must  be  an  awakening  in  the 
matter  of  holy  living.  Inconsistent,  worldly 
living  on  the  part  of  the  follower  of  Christ  pre- 
sents an  almost  insurmountable  barrier,  in  the 
way  of  the  coming  to  Christ  of  those  who  are 
lost.  It  is  said  that  there  is  an  increase  of 
worldliness  in  the  Church ;  if  so  God  pity  us. 

A    distinguished   preacher  recently  said  that 


THE    NEED    OF   AN   AWAKENING   37 

frequently  it  was  true  that  the  reason  why  the 
world  did  not  join  the  Church  was  found  in  the 
fact  that  in  certain  places  at  least  the  Church  had 
almost  joined  the  world.  From  this  enthralldom 
we  need  to  pray  for  deliverance.  If  there  is  to 
be  a  genuine  awakening,  it  will  be, 

First :     The  outcome  of  much  prayer. 

Second :  It  will  be  in  accordance  with  divine 
revelation. 

Third :  It  will  be  in  close  harmony  with  the 
time  honored  doctrines  of  the  evangehcal  and 
reformed  faith. 

Fourth  :  It  will  give  great  prominence  to  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Fifth  :  "  A  genuine  revival  will  carry  with  it 
as  a  conclusive  proof  of  its  Divine  origin  a  trans- 
forming power  over  the  lives  of  men.  It  will  be 
a  loud  and  emphatic  call  to  personal  holiness — a 
lioliness  which  will  reflect  the  character  of  the  Mas- 
ter himself  by  giving  the  world  living  illustrations 
of  what  men  may  become  who  are  partakers  of 
the  Divine  nature.  This  transformation  of  life 
will  exhibit  a  visible  consecration  to  God's  serv- 
ice of  time,  talents,  money,  and  all  that  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  individual.  It  will  solve  the 
question  of  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  for 


38     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

when  men  are  purified  and  empowered  by  the 
Divine  Spirit,  their  personal  response  to  the 
Lord's  call  will  be :  '  Here  am  I,  send  me.' 
There  is  no  great  issue,  religious,  political,  or 
social  before  the  minds  of  men  at  the  present 
moment  that  may  not  be  solved,  and  solved 
forever,  by  a  world-wide  revival  in  ApostoHc 
power.  They  are  right  who  tell  us  that  sin  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  all  human  woe.  Political 
legislators  deal  with  the  suffering,  but  overlook 
the  sin.  A  genuine  revival  in  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  lead  us  first  of  all  to  God. 
When  we  are  right  with  him,  the  problems  that 
worry  us  will  become  secondary,  and  finally  dis- 
appear." 


CHAPTER  III 

ALONE   WITH    GOD 

In  this  busy  world  in  which  we  live  we  have 
been  slowly  but  surely  losing  the  sense  of  the 
presence  of  God. 

When  the  Prodigal  Son  returned  home  the 
elder  brother  found  fault  with  the  generous  re- 
ception given  him  by  the  father,  and  complained 
because  there  had  not  been  given  to  him  even  so 
much  as  a  kid  with  which  to  make  merry  with 
his  friends,  the  father's  gracious  answer  was, 
"  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me  and  all  that  I  have 
is  thine." 

It  is  as  true  to-day  for  us  as  then  for  him,  even 
though  we  be  rebellious,  inconsistent  and  un- 
faithful God  is  with  us,  but  for  him  to  be  with  us 
is  one  thing,  to  realize  his  presence  and  practice 
it  is  quite  another  matter.  I  know  of  no  way  to 
recover  that  which  we  have  lost  other  than  to 
cultivate  the  practice  of  being  more  frequently 
alone  with  him. 

It  was  when  Moses  was  alone  that  he  saw  the 
39 


40     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

burning  bush;  when  Jacob  was  alone  that  he 
was  changed  from  the  supplanter  to  Israel  the 
Prince ;  when  Joshua  was  alone  that  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  nerved  him  for  battle ;  when  Isaiah 
was  alone  that  he  beheld  the  vision  which  in- 
spired him  to  service,  when  he  said,  "  Here  am 
I,  send  me."  When  Nicodemus  was  alone  that 
the  way  of  life  was  opened  before  him ;  when 
Paul  was  alone  that  he  was  caught  up  into  the 
heavens;  when  Peter  was  alone  that  Jesus  for- 
gave him  his  wanderings.  It  was  when  John 
was  alone  that  he  saw  golden  streets  and  pearly 
gates,  but  best  of  all  beheld  the  vision  of  him  of 
whom  he  wrote  saying,  "  I  was  in  the  spirit,  and, 
behold  a  throne  was  set  in  heaven,  and  one  sat 
on  the  throne  "  (Revelation  4 :  2).  "  The  four 
and  twenty  elders  fall  down  before  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne,  and  worship  him  that  liveth  for- 
ever and  ever,  and  cast  their  crowns  before 
the  throne,  saying.  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord, 
to  receive  glory  and  honor,  and  power;  for 
thou  hast  created  all  things  and  for  thy  pleas- 
ure they  are  and  were  created"  (Revelation 
4:  10,  II). 

We  need  to  be  more  and  more  alone  with 
him.    "  As  much  with  him  as  with  the  world,"  is 


ALONE   WITH   GOD  41 

the  way  the  men  of  other  days  put  it.     Surely 
it  was  never  more  needed. 

We  need  it  for  inspiration  and  refreshment. 
To  be  constantly  giving  out  is  to  fail  ultimately 
if  the  loss  is  not  offset  by  gain ;  as  in  breathing 
we  first  breathe  in  then  out,  and  breathe  out  in 
proportion  to  our  breathing  in,  make  all  our 
effort  to  breathe  in  and  breathe  out  without  con- 
scious effort.  So  it  must  be  in  our  spiritual  life. 
We  must  again  and  again  breathe  in  of  the  very 
presence  of  God.  We  must  learn  to  wait  on  the 
Lord  to  do  this. 

"  Take  time  to  be  holy, 
Speak  oft  with  thy  Lord." 

We  need  it  for  instruction.  God  has  a  plan 
for  every  life  and  for  every  work.  We  would 
save  ourselves  from  many  mistakes,  and  often 
have  much  less  work  to  undo  did  we  but  learn  to 
wait  upon  him  and  say,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy 
servant  heareth." 

We  shall  have  the  sense  of  God's  presence  in 
proportion  as  we  shut  the  world  out,  and  unless 
we  have  some  place  where  we  may  frequently 
meet  him  we  are  deprived  of  blessing  which 
comes  in  no  other  way. 

Two  rules  certainly  need  to  be  observed. 


42     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

First:  Wait  on  the  Lord.  Do  not  hurry, 
better  a  moment  of  clear  vision  than  an  hour  of 
meaningless  prayer. 

Second :  Be  still.  Prayer  is  not  always  talk- 
ing to  God.  It  is  very,  very  often  God's  talking 
to  us. 

When  we  have  the  sense  of  his  presence 
difficulties  will  vanish ;  when  he  is  at  our  right 
hand  we  shall  not  be  moved. 

If  I  were  asked  to  name  the  man  in  Scripture 
who  had  more  practical  difficulties  to  meet  with 
than  any  other  saint  of  God  perhaps  in  the  whole 
Bible,  I  should  be  inclined  to  say,  Moses.  He 
was  leader,  legislator,  ruler,  all  in  one.  He  had 
to  say  yes  and  no  about  everything  for  that 
multitude  of  people  in  the  wilderness.  How 
touching  are  his  words,  "  How  can  I  myself 
alone  bear  your  cumbrance,  and  your  burden, 
and  your  strife?"  (Deut.  i :  I2.)  How  did 
Moses  get  the  wisdom  and  counsel  he  needed  ? 
It  was  through  being  always  with  God.  I  do 
not  know  an  instance  of  close  communion  with 
God  like  that  of  Moses.  His  difficulties  brought 
him  constantly  to  God,  and  the  consequence  was 
that  his  difficulties  were  his  blessings.  Our 
crowns  are  made   out  of  our  crosses,  and  our 


ALONEWITHGOD  43 

triumphs  out  of  our  trials  and  tears.  "  There 
arose  not  a  prophet  since  in  Israel  like  unto 
Moses  whom  the  Lord  knew  face  to  face " 
(Deut.  34:  10).  Not  in  a  similitude,  or  in  a 
dream,  but  face  to  face.  "  He  made  known  his 
ways  unto  Moses,  his  acts  unto  the  children  of 
Israel"  (Ps.  103:7).  The  children  of  Israel 
knew  the  acts,  but  Moses  knew  the  ways  behind 
the  acts.  He  knew  the  why  and  the  wherefore, 
he  got  into  God's  secrets,  he  was  always  with 
God,  he  had  no  one  else  to  go  to.  How  could 
he  have  done  anything  without  God  ?  In  the 
ninth  of  Numbers  there  is  a  striking  instance  of 
the  way  in  which  Moses  hearkened  unto  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  an  hour  of  difficulty.  At  the 
eighth  verse  we  read  that  there  was  a  practical 
difficulty  which  had  never  arisen  before.  There 
were  certain  men  who  had  been  defiled  by  a  dead 
body,  and  thus  had  been  prevented  from  keeping 
the  Passover  at  the  right  time.  They  came  to 
Moses  and  said,  What  are  we  to  do  under  the 
circumstances  ?  What  did  Moses  say  ?  Did 
Moses  answer  them  out  of  his  own  head  ?  He 
said  just  what  you  and  I  have  to  say,  if  we  are  to 
know  the  will  of  God.  Moses  said  to  them, 
"  Stand  still  and  I  will  hear  what  the  Lord  will 


44     PRESENT-DAY  EVANGELISM 

command  concerning  you  "  (ver.  8).  Let  us  be 
still.  Half  our  difficulties  would  disappear  if  we 
obeyed  that  one  word,  "  Be  still."  You  are  not 
silent  enough  to  let  God  speak  to  you,  you  are 
too  impatient,  you  are  in  such  a  hurry,  you  want 
to  have  it  all  settled  directly,  and  put  down  in 
black  and  white,  and  done  with.  But  God  is 
never  in  a  hurry — you  must  wait.  "Wait," 
wait,  wait,  "  on  the  Lord,  be  of  good  courage, 
and  he  shall  strengthen  thine  heart,  wait  I  say 
upon  the  Lord."  I  can  recall  times  in  my  life 
when  I  have  missed  the  way  through  not  wait- 
ing, and  I  can  recall  times,  many  times,  thank 
God,  when  by  the  grace  of  God  I  have  found  the 
way,  and  it  has  been  always  by  waiting.  "  He 
that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste  "  (Isa.  28 :  16). 
"  He  that  hasteth  with  his  feet  sinneth  "  (Prov. 
19:  2).  We  must  take  time.  Be  still,  have  a 
silence  in  your  soul.  "  The  words  of  the  wise 
are  heard  in  quiet"  (Eccles.  9  :  17).^ 

*"Thc  Pattern  Prayer  Book." 


CHAPTER  IV 

RIGHT   WITH   GOD 

God's  work  for  the  multitude  begins  with  the 
individual. 

"  Thou  must  be  true  thyself. 
If  thou  the  truth  would'st  teach." 

Not  long  ago  I  heard  the  Rev.  Charles  Cuth- 
bert  Hall,  D.  D.,  preach  to  young  people  from 
the  text  which  is  found  in  i  Timothy,  the  fourth 
chapter  and  the  twelfth  verse.  In  speaking  of 
the  perilous  times  in  which  they  Hved  Paul  said, 
"  Now  the  spirit  speaketh  expressly,  that  in  the 
latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith, 
giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of 
devils ;  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having  their 
conscience  seared  with  a  hot  iron ;  forbidding  to 
marry,  and  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats, 
which  God  hath  created  to  be  received  with 
thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and  know 
the  truth"  (I  Timothy  4:1-3).  And  in  Dr. 
Hall's  text  Paul  is  telling  Timothy  how  to  offset 
this  iniquitous  condition,  "  Let  no  man  despise 
45 


46     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

thy  youth ;  but  be  thou  an  example  of  the  be- 
Uevers,  in  word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in 
spirit,  in  faith,  in  purity"  (i  Timothy  4:  12). 

Timothy  was  to  be  an  example  in  word^  that 
is  in  speech  or  what  he  said. 

In  conversation^  that  is  manner  of  life  or  what 
he  did. 

In  charity,  that  is  opinion  or  what  he  judged. 

In  spirit,  that  is  influence  or  what  he  repre- 
sented. 

In  faith,  that  is  conviction  or  what  he  be- 
lieved. 

In  purity,  that  is  character  or  what  he  was. 

If  we  are  to  be  used  of  God  there  must  be 
close  heartsearching. 

The  individual  life  must  be  right.  "  Search 
me,  oh  God,  and  know  my  heart,  try  me  and 
know  my  thought."  This  Scripture  is  intensely 
personal. 

It  is  said  that  the  Saturday  night  before  the 
Passover  when  the  house  of  every  Jew  was 
searched  for  leaven  and  everything  was  made 
clean,  the  faithful  Jew  went  through  this  formula, 
"  And  now  if  any  leaven  abides  in  this  house  it 
is  here  against  my  will."  This  must  be  our  po- 
sition regarding  sin. 


RIGHT   WITH   GOD  47 

The  social  life  must  be  right.  In  second  Kings 
the  twentieth  chapter,  Hezekiah  the  king  has 
had  guests  in  his  home  and  Isaiah  the  prophet 
came  to  him  with  this  startling  question,  "  What 
have  they  seen  in  thy  house  ?  "  It  will  be  neces- 
sary for  us  if  we  would  be  right  with  God  to  ask 
ourselves  this  searching  question,  "  How  is  it  in 
our  homes  in  the  matter  of  family  religion  and  the 
influence  of  parents  over  children  ?  "  How  is  it 
with  regard  to  the  position  of  questionable  things 
to  say  nothing  of  those  which  are  positively  sin- 
ful ?  How  is  it  with  regard  to  the  atmosphere 
of  the  home,  is  it  for  Christ  or  against  him  ? 
How  is  it  with  regard  to  the  papers  we  read  and 
the  books  in  our  library?  If  he  should  walk 
through  the  house  would  he  put  his  finger  of 
disapproval  upon  any  of  these  things,  if  so  they 
must  be  put  away. 

The  public  life  must  be  right.  Every  man's 
work  shall  be  tried  of  what  sort  it  is,  not  his  pri- 
vate ministry  only  but  his  public  service,  the 
sermons  he  has  preached,  the  work  he  has  done, 
the  influence  he  has  exerted,  all  these  shall  be 
tried  by  fire  and  the  day  shall  declare  them. 

There  ought  to  be  an  examination  of  our 
motives     for    service.     Let    the    minister    say, 


48     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

"  Why  am  I  in  the  ministry,  it  is  simply  that  I 
may  do  good  to  others,  then  have  I  not  missed 
Paul's  idea  when  he  said,  *  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach 
not  the  Gospel.' "  He  did  not  say,  "  Woe  is 
the  heathen  if  I  preach  not." 

"  What  is  my  supreme  desire  in  the  matter  of 
service  ?  "  Let  every  Christian  ask  himself  this 
question.  Is  it  for  self-glory  or  praise,  or  is  it 
to  honor  him  ?  And  yet  let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that  there  may  be  too  much  introspection. 

«« I  look  around  but  soon  become  distracted, 
And  ponder  over  life's  suffering  and  wrong 
When  shall  be  righted  all  earth's  sad  disorder  ? 
When  be  fulfilled  the  angel's  herald-song  ? 

"  I  look  within,  my  spirit  is  contracted, 

Shrivelled  and  puny  when  self-occupied ; 
With  what  dismay  I  see  my  imperfections  1 
How  much  within  to  make  dissatisfied ! 

"I  look  above —my  eyes  are  then  attracted. 
By  one  at  God's  right  hand,  divine  and  fair. 
And  as  I  look  my  soul  finds  satisfaction. 
Ah !  let  me  gaze  forever,  only  there  !  " 

If  we  are  to  be  used  of  God  in  evangelistic  ef- 
fort let  us  remember  that  there  must  be. 

First:  The  presentation  of  the  whole  being 
to  Christ  as  our  master  and  king. 

Second  :  An  abandonment  of  every  known 
sin,  of  every  weight  that  hinders  holy  living  and 


RIGHT   WITH   GOD  49 

of  everything  that  is  found  to  be  displeasing  in 
God's  sight. 

Third :  Acceptance  by  faith  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  God's  gracious  provision  for  holiness 
of  life  and  for  power  in  his  service. 

Fourth  :  A  continuous  dying  unto  self  that 
Christ  may  be  all  in  all. 

Fifth :  A  realization  of  the  indwelling  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Sixth :  A  separation  unto  God  for  personal 
service  in  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  evan- 
gelizing of  the  world.  There  is  a  call  to-day  for 
workers  and  the  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest. 

I  think  it  is  true,  however,  if  we  study  the 
matter  carefully  that  the  call  is  not  so  much  for 
sowers  as  for  reapers.  He  has  sown  the  seed  in 
his  sacrificial  death  and  we  have  but  to  thrust  in 
the  sickle  and  then  come  rejoicing  bringing  our 
sheaves  with  us. 

Let  us  not  underestimate  the  ordinary  means 
of  grace,  let  us  not  imagine  that  no  work  is  to  be 
accomplished  unless  some  distinguished  preacher 
is  our  leader.  Let  us  not  fail  to  put  honor  on 
the  Holy  Spirit,  let  us  not  be  neglectful  of  be- 
lieving prayer  and  let  us  above  all  things  not  be 
unmindful  of  his  gracious  promises. 


CHAPTER  V 

EVANGELISM   AND   THE   HOLY   SPIRIT 

No  discussion  of  evangelism  would  be  com- 
plete without  reference  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  Too 
often  is  he  ignored  in  our  planning  and  our  serv- 
ice, which  is  an  error  fatal  to  results. 

With  regard  to  his  relation  to  the  individual 
life,  of  two  things  we  may  be  assured. 

First :  That  he  is  the  secret  of  real  success ; 
not  human  ingenuity  or  strength  of  intellect, 
though  both  of  these  are  not  lightly  to  be  es- 
teemed. "  A  spiritually  controlled  hfe  is  not  a 
condition  in  which  the  natural  faculties  of  the 
soul  are  crushed  and  exterminated.  A  friend 
once  told  me  that  in  the  earlier  stages  of  his 
Christian  life  he  was  greatly  troubled  by  a  gift  of 
irrepressible  humor  that  God  had  given  him. 
When  he  sought  full  consecration  to  God  he 
wondered  whether  this  gift  must  be  crushed  out 
of  him  altogether.  It  troubled  him  very  much, 
and  no  doubt  it  was  a  danger.  With  all  gifts 
there  are  accompanying  dangers.  My  friend 
50 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT  51 

sought  entirely  to  crucify  and  repress  the  tend- 
ency, but  in  vain,  it  was  a  constant  trouble  to 
him.  At  last  he  consulted  an  aged  and  experi- 
enced servant  of  God,  who  said  to  him,  '  My 
dear  brother,  do  not  crucify  it,  but  consecrate  it. 
Let  it  be  completely  under  the  control  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  he  will  know  what  use  to 
make  of  it.  It  is  a  part  of  your  nature,  and  not 
necessarily  sinful.  He  can  deliver  you  from  an 
unwise  use  of  it,  and  turn  it  into  safe  channels 
for  his  own  service.'  From  that  day  the  faculty 
was  not  a  hindrance  but  a  help."  ^ 

The  lesson  we  must  learn  is  that  there  is  power 
only  in  fullness  and  that  there  is  fullness  only  in 
the  yielded  life.  Somewhere  I  have  seen  four 
steps  suggested  as  leading  to  power. 

(First)     What  God  claims  I  yield. 

(Second)     What  I  yield  he  accepts. 

(Third)     What  he  accepts  he  fills. 

(Fourth)     What  he  fills  he  uses. 

Second :  We  are  assured  of  the  cooperation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  only  when  we  give  testimony 
to  Christ,  and  at  no  other  time.  Disloyalty  to 
him,  trifling  with  him,  bar  the  way  to  the  com- 
ing  of  the   Holy   Spirit.     If  you   would   have 

1 «  Pattern  Prayer  Life." 


52     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

yours  to  be  a  spirit  filled  life,  observe  the  follow- 
ing: 

First :  Acknowledge  that  you  are  without  that 
which  God  has  promised  to  give  you  as  his 
child;  that  you  are  not  in  possession  of  that 
which  others  seem  to  have,  if  indeed  this  be  true. 

Second:  Ask  him  for  that  which  is  your 
birthright  privilege  and  remember  that  what 
Christ  received  as  the  head,  he  received  in  trust 
for  the  body,  and  we  are  a  part  of  the  body. 

Third :  Accept  from  God  his  gracious  gift,  or 
in  other  words  take  the  fullness  of  power  from 
the  hand  of  the  ascended  Saviour  as  you  took 
the  gift  of  pardon  from  the  hand  of  the  crucified 
Saviour  and  that  is  by  faith. 

Fourth  :  Act  on  the  strength  of  the  reception 
of  a  new  impartation  of  his  fullness  and  Hfe,  and 
the  inevitable  result  may  be  an  enlarged  vision 
and  an  increased  blessing. 

With  reference  to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the 
matter  of  Bible  study  we  must  not  neglect  him. 
He  inspired  men  to  write  and  he  alone  can  in- 
spire us  to  read  and  to  appropriate  his  teaching. 
No  one  can  really  study  the  Bible  with  profit  un- 
less he  observe  at  least  two  rules. 

The    Bible    must    be    approached    reverently. 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT  53 

Come  to  it  in  one  way  and  it  is  like  a  sensitive 
plant,  its  leaves  will  close  and  its  fragrance  will 
refuse  to  flow  forth.  Approach  it  reverently  and 
it  is  sweeter  than  honey  in  the  honeycomb.  It 
is  like  water  from  the  rock,  it  is  light  in  our  dark- 
ness, it  is  manna  to  our  hungry  souls. 

For  the  cultivation  of  the  spirit  of  evangelism 
in  the  matter  of  our  Bible  reading  the  following 
helpful  suggestions  were  once  made  by  an  Eng- 
lish preacher. 

First :  Study  through  a  passage  of  Scripture 
or  a  story  at  your  morning  Bible  reading. 

Second :  Never  rise  from  your  knees  after 
you  have  gotten  your  message  from  God's  word 
until  it  is  a  part  of  your  very  life. 

Third :  Work  out  in  your  daily  experience 
the  truth  which  he  has  given  you  at  your  morn- 
ing feasting. 

Fourth:  Write  down  upon  the  margin  of 
your  Bible  what  God  gives  you  as  a  special  reve- 
lation. 

Fifth  :  Pass  on  to  those  who  are  like-minded 
with  yourself  those  bits  of  spiritual  truth  which 
God  is  so  ready  to  give  to  his  children,  or  to 
put  it  more  tersely  Study  it  through.  Pray  it  in. 
Work  it  out.     Put  it  down.     Pass  it  on. 


54 


PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 


With  reference  to  the  prayer  Hfe  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  ignore  him  is  to  hinder  prayer,  to 
hinder  prayer  is  to  be  a  stranger  to  the  true 
spirit  of  evangeUsm.  He  is  the  teacher  in  the 
school  of  prayer ;  he  is  the  guide  into  the  deep 
things  of  God;  he  is  the  revealer  of  hidden 
mysteries. 

"  Prayer  had  a  very  prominent  place  in  the 
early  Church,  not  only  as  a  means  of  promoting 
spiritual  life,  but  also  as  a  force  to  be  used  on 
behalf  of  the  work  of  evangelization.  The 
mighty  display  of  power  at  Pentecost  was 
ushered  in  by  prayer.  Workers  were  appointed 
only  after  prayer.  When  they  were  to  be 
sent  forth  the  Church  assembled  for  special 
prayer.  The  great  foreign  mission  movement 
was  inaugurated  in  prayer.  If  persecution  came, 
the  Christians  met  to  pray.  One  of  the  two 
reasons  for  choosing  deacons  was  that  the 
Apostles — the  leaders  of  the  Church — might 
give  themselves  to  prayer.  The  more  carefully 
the  subject  is  studied,  the  more  apparent  it  be- 
comes that  what  was  accomplished  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Age  was  largely  due  to  the  constant  em- 
ployment of  the  hidden  and  omnipotent  force 
of  prayer. 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT  55 

"  The  Spirit  of  God  guided  and  empowered  the 
workers  and  thus  governed  and  energized  the 
entire  missionary  enterprise  of  the  Church.  He 
designated  and  separated  the  workers  and  sent 
them  forth  unto  their  work.  He  clothed  them 
with  irresistible  power.  He  opened  and  closed 
doors.  He  led  them  in  times  of  perplexity.  In 
his  might  they  carried  the  gospel  message 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  vast 
empire  of  Rome  and  even  into  the  regions  be- 
yond." 1 

Everything  vital  to  the  success  of  the  world's 
evangelization  hinges  on  prayer.  Are  thou- 
sands of  missionaries  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
native  workers  needed  ?  "  Pray  ye  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  Harvest,  that  he  send  forth  laborers 
into  his  harvest."  Is  a  vast  increase  in  gifts  re- 
quired to  prosecute  adequately  the  enterprise? 
Prayer  is  the  only  power  that  will  influence  God's 
people  to  give  with  purity  of  motive  and  with 
real  sacrifice  of  self.  Prayer  alone  will  overcome 
the  gigantic  difficulties  which  confront  the 
workers  in  every  field. 

Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  in  his  pamphlet,  "  Prayer 
and    Missions,"   which    has    done    so   much   to 

» «  The  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  This  Generation." 


56     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

awaken  the  Church  to  prayer,  goes  to  the  heart 
of  the  subject,  "  The  evangelization  of  the  world 
in  this  generation  depends  first  of  all  upon  a 
revival  of  prayer.  Deeper  than  the  need  of 
men ;  deeper,  far  than  the  need  for  money ;  aye, 
deep  down  at  the  bottom  of  our  spiritless  life  is 
the  need  for  the  forgotten  secret  of  prevailing, 
world-wide  prayer.  .  .  ,  The  condition  and 
consequence  of  such  prayers  as  this  is  a  new  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Ghost."  ^ 

» "  The  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  This  Generation." 


CHAPTER  VI 

WIDENING  THE  SCOPE 

There  is  great  danger  of  our  making  the 
scope  of  evangelism  too  narrow  for  there  are 
those  who  seem  to  think  that  we  are  only  evan- 
gelistic when  we  are  preaching  after  the  manner 
of  the  evangelist  and  crying  out  to  men  to 
repent  and  turn  to  God.  They  evidently  believe 
that  our  entire  obligation  has  been  met  when  the 
attention  of  the  lost  has  been  compelled,  when 
they  have  been  influenced  to  decide  for  Christ 
and  are  finally  led  into  the  membership  of  the 
Church.  This  is  a  dangerous  tendency  and  in 
the  estimation  of  many  people  militates  against 
the  entire  evangelistic  effort.  The  present  day 
evangelism  is  to  lose  no  emphasis  at  these  points, 
for  except  we  repent  we  shall  all  likewise  perish, 
and  if  we  willfully  forsake  the  Church  there 
can  be  no  promise  either  of  fruitfulness  or  of 
a  joyous  Christian  experience,  but  the  scope  of 
evangelism  is  wider  than  that  and  comprehends 
strength  of  character  and  the  attempt  at  least  to 
57 


58     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

reproduce  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the  world.  It 
is  a  call  to  men  to  live  in  such  fellowship  with 
him  that  the  world  taking  knowledge  of  them 
shall  know  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus. 

Not  long  ago  I  wrote  to  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful pastors  in  the  country  asking  if  he  could 
give  me  some  evangelistic  suggestions  which 
might  be  helpful  to  the  Church  at  large,  and 
among  other  things,  he  wrote  as  follows : 

"  The  only  suggestion  that  I  could  think  of 
making  with  regard  to  the  hne  of  thought  to  be 
followed,  is  that  in  my  judgment,  the  scope  of 
evangelistic  preaching  should  be  considerably 
widened.  In  our  effort  to  bring  people  to  the 
point  of  decision,  and  to  narrow  down  the  whole 
matter  to  a  single  issue,  we  preachers  have  too 
much  lost  sight  of  the  ethics  of  the  kingdom. 
We  confine  ourselves  to  a  few  doctrines  like  that 
of  sin,  repentance,  faith  and  confession,  preached 
very  much  in  the  abstract,  and  have  little  to  say 
about  the  duties  which  should  distinguish  the 
Christian  life.  What  little  we  have  to  say  about 
these  duties  is  generally  connected  with  warn- 
ings against  worldliness,  and  by  worldliness  we 
generally  mean  card-playing,  theatre-going,  and 
dancing,  leaving   out  the  weightier  matters  of 


WIDENING   THE   SCOPE  59 

avarice,  injustice,  untruth,  and  various  other 
things  to  which  selfishness  leads. 

"  We  take  our  cue  too  much  from  the  Epistles 
and  not  enough  from  the  Gospels,  forgetting  that 
the  Epistles  were  written  to  bodies  of  people 
who  were  already  Christian,  and  that  they  do 
not  present  the  Gospel  which  the  Apostles 
preached  for  evangelistic  purposes.  In  fact,  I 
think  we  have  very  little  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
of  the  Kingdom  as  Jesus  preached  it,  and  as  his 
Apostles  preached  it,  in  our  evangelistic  efforts. 
It  seems  to  me  that  we  should  hold  up  before 
the  people,  the  full-rounded  idea  of  the  King- 
dom, with  its  individual  and  social  relations  as 
the  essential  thing,  and  then  set  forth  Christ  as 
the  only  Door  of  Entrance. 

"  Of  course  Christian  ethics  lie  back  of  what  we 
call  our  evangelistic  preaching  in  the  minds  of 
the  preachers,  but  I  think  it  very  important  that 
they  should  be  brought  out  and  put  into  the 
minds  of  the  hearers.  The  failure  to  do  this  is 
the  cause  of  the  unreality  of  much  of  the  preach- 
ing and  Christian  living  of  our  time.  I  have 
thought  a  good  deal  upon  this  matter  of  late 
years.  So  much  in  fact,  that  I  have  come  to  dis- 
trust  very  deeply,  the   results   of  the   ordinary 


6o     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

evangelistic  preaching  of  our  day.  It  does  not 
go  deep  enough  into  the  life  of  our  people. 
There  is  not  enough  said  about  social  injustice. 
People  think  that  they  can  accept  Christ  and  be- 
come Christians,  without  practicing  the  elemen- 
tary principles  of  his  ethics,  and  in  my  judgment 
there  is  nothing  that  will  restore  to  the  Church 
her  strong  hold  upon  the  masses  of  the  people, 
particularly  upon  the  men,  but  a  robust  preach- 
ing of  the  Christian  life  as  Jesus  preached  it." 

While  we  may  not  be  prepared  to  accept  all 
that  he  has  suggested,  yet  we  must  acknowledge 
the  force  of  his  message. 

Evangelistic  preaching  must  have  a  far  wider 
scope  than  simply  a  call  to  repentance  or  an  in- 
vitation to  come  to  Christ.  This  is  only  the  be- 
ginning. 

It  involves  the  stimulation  of  the  Christian 
H  and  also  the  building  up  of  his  character.  In 
other  words  it  is  the  winning  of  a  soul  and  the 
training  of  that  soul  to  be  like  Christ.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  it  is  a  summons  to  the  whole 
Church  to  reproduction  so  far  as  possible  of  the 
life  of  the  Son  of  God. 

"  In  reply  to  a  criticism  that  Christianity  was 
a  failure,  a  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly y  some 


WIDENING   THE   SCOPE  6i 

years  ago,  retorted  that  it  was  not  a  failure,  for 
it  had  never  been  tried.  Can  it  be  fairly  said 
that  a  physician's  treatment  has  been  tried  when 
one-half  of  it  has  been  neglected  ?  Only  one- 
half  of  Christ's  Gospel  has  been  preached,  and 
Christianity  has  been  only  one-half  accepted, 
only  one-half  applied." 

"  Truth  is  a  sphere ;  and  though  it  has  oppo- 
site poles,  it  is  still  one.  But  men  can  see  only 
a  hemisphere  at  a  time;  hence  the  many  and 
longhved  disputes  over  half  truths.  One  sees 
only  the  ideal ;  another,  only  the  real.  One  fixes 
attention  on  the  inward ;  another  on  the  outward. 
One  would  save  the  soul ;  another  strives  for  the 
body.  One  says,  change  the  man's  inner  life, 
and  he  will  change  his  surroundings ;  another 
says,  transform  environment  and  you  will  trans- 
form character.  And  while  they  bring  railing 
accusations  against  each  other,  the  world  waits 
and  suffers. 

"  Both  parties  to  the  unending  dispute  are  right 
and  both  are  wrong.  Each  is  right  in  the  half 
truth  which  he  accepts,  and  each  is  wrong  in  the 
half  truth  which  he  rejects.  Why  not  put  the 
two  hemispheres  together,  and  let  the  world  roll 
on  ?     This  is  precisely  what  the  true  doctrine  of 


62     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

the  kingdom  does.  In  it  the  spiritual  and  phys- 
ical, the  ideal  and  the  real,  the  inward  and  the 
outward,  the  soul  and  the  body,  are  not  set  over 
against  one  another  as  if  unrelated  and  even 
antagonistic.  They  are  seen  to  be  parts  of  one 
whole,  wonderfully  interrelated,  and  each  pro- 
foundly influencing  the  other. 

"  One  of  the  most  serious  mistakes  of  the 
Church  has  been  to  ignore  the  physical — a  mis- 
take she  would  never  have  made  if  she  had  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  her  Master.  Devoting 
herself  exclusively  to  the  spiritual,  she  is  like  a 
mother  who  in  her  anxiety  to  save  her  child's 
soul  neglects  his  food,  clothing,  exercise  and 
cleanliness,  with  the  result  that  there  is  not  left 
much  of  a  soul  to  save."  ^ 

Men  may  call  the  question,  "  What  would 
Jesus  do  ?  "  impracticable  if  they  choose,  but  pres- 
ent day  evangelism  will  emphasize  it  more  and 
more,  however  it  must  be  distinctly  understood 
that  his  life  may  not  be  reproduced  in  the  energy 
of  the  flesh,  it  is  only  as  we  have  Christ  in  us 
that  we  are  able  to  live  as  he  would  have  us,  it  is 
only  as  we  are  willing  instruments  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  that  we  may  impress  others  with 

i"The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


WIDENING   THE   SCOPE  63 

the  reality  of  our  faith  and  of  our  Saviour  in 
whom  it  is  centred. 

We  may  make  fine  distinctions  as  to  dispen- 
sational  truth  in  which  I  confess  I  believe  with 
all  my  heart,  but  this  wicked  world  waits  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  in 
home  life,  in  Church  activities,  and  in  the  busi- 
ness world,  and  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less. 

Evangelistic  effort  which  stops  short  of  the 
training  and  culture  of  the  one  saved  is  not  such 
preaching  and  service  as  could  merit  the  divine 
approval. 

Preaching  a  doctrine  of  holiness  which  leads 
men  into  the  clouds  of  mysticism  and  deceives 
them  with  a  useless  sentimentality  is  not  Scrip- 
tural, and  has  no  power  with  men  and  women, 
who,  sick  of  sin  live  on  the  earth  surrounded  by 
all  its  temptations  and  subject  to  the  most  of  its 
trials. 

In  Colossians  the  first  chapter,  the  ninth  and 
tenth  verses,  we  read,  "  For  this  cause  we  also 
since  the  day  we  heard  it,  do  not  cease  to  pray 
for  you,  and  to  desire  that  ye  might  be  filled 
with  the  knowledge  of  his  will  in  all  wisdom  and 
spiritual   understanding.     That  ye   might  walk 


64     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

worthy  of  the  Lord,  unto  all  pleasing,  being 
fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing  in 
the  knowledge  of  God."  And  in  this  prayer 
Paul  prays  that  all  Colosse  might  have  wisdom 
and  understanding.  The  first  is  general  knowl- 
edge, the  second  is  spiritual  perception,  and  he 
tells  how  both  may  be  acquired. 

The  first  by  meditation  on  God's  Word ; 

The  second  by  listening  to  his  spirit,  but  the 
purpose  of  this  prayer  is  also  given. 

It  was  not  a  mere  form  or  sentiment,  but  an 
earnest,  longing  desire  expressed  only  as  Paul 
could  put  it. 

Here  it  is  for  "  the  end  of  preaching  is  prac- 
tice," "  that  ye  might  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord 
unto  all  pleasing."  It  is  no  use,  as  we  said  just 
now,  to  know  without  doing,  we  must  do  what 
we  know.  And  what  a  standard  he  presents — 
"  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing  !  "  That 
is  wonderful.  Some  people  say  you  cannot 
please  God  at  all.  The  apostle  says  our  walk 
ought  to  be  "  unto  all  pleasing."  There  is  no 
room  there  for  displeasing.  There  is  the  aim 
anyhow,  there  is  the  possibility  of  pleasing  God. 
Do  not  let  your  standard  of  holy  living  sink 
lower    than    that.     The    apostle  says   we   may 


WIDENING   THE   SCOPE  65 

please  God.  Have  we  got  to  that  stage  ?  I 
think  we  should  not  be  content  with  less.  Have 
you  the  Enoch  testimony  that  you  please  God  ? 
Have  you  ever  had  it  ?  It  is  possible  whatever 
else  may  not  be,  for  it  is  in  the  Book.  "  Walk 
worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being 
fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing  in 
the  knowledge  of  God."  "  Fruitful  in  every 
good  work,"  that  does  not  mean,  as  some  one 
has  said,  that  everybody  is  to  do  everything,  it 
means  you  are  not  to  be  too  particular,  not  to 
pick  and  choose.  Some  people,  for  instance,  are 
"  too  respectable  to  give  away  tracts,"  they  will 
do  something  but  not  that,  they  don't  like  work 
which  humbles  them  ;  like  servants  in  India  who 
will  do  nothing  that  breaks  their  caste,  so  that 
you  are  obliged  to  have  half  a  dozen  servants  to 
do  the  work  of  one.  That  is  not  the  Christian's 
example,  he  must  be  ready  for  every  good  work, 
whatever  the  Lord  the  King  shall  appoint.  May 
that  spirit  of  willingness  be  given  us,  and  the 
apostle's  prayer  for  Colosse  be  abundantly  an- 
swered for  you  and  me."  ^ 

>«*The  Pattern  Prayer  Book." 


CHAPTER  VII 

METHODS 

Let  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  "  no 
method,  however  perfect,  is  substituted  for  power. 
The  method  is  only  the  way  in  which  intellec- 
tual, emotional,  volitional  and  spiritual  power  is 
manifest.  Method  without  power  is  a  locomotive 
on  the  track  without  steam ;  power  without 
method  is  the  locomotive  with  steam  in  the 
boiler  and  pipe,  but  derailed  and  plowing  its 
path  to  its  own  destruction.  Power  manifests 
itself  in  method  but  method  is  no  substitute  for 
power."  ^ 

The  other  day  I  came  across  the  following  in 
the  book  of  a  well-known  author.  He  had  been 
giving  an  account  of  a  notable  revival  of  other 
days,  and  he  said,  "  This  solemn  story  of  Divine 
dealing  lays  peculiar  stress  upon  united  prayer,  a 
pure  Gospel,  hand  to  hand  contact  with  souls, 
and  simple  faith  in  God's  present  power  to  save. 
Here  was  no  grand  array  of  agencies,  no  unusual 

»  "  The  Working  Church." 
66 


METHODS  df 

and  striking  combinations — no  far-famed  evangel- 
ist sent  for  to  inaugurate  a  revival,  no  appeal  to 
novelty,  nothing  dramatic,  spectacular,  sensa- 
tional. The  whole  work  began  in  the  prayers  of 
a  few  fervent  believers  for  the  church  with  which 
they  were  connected,  and  particularly  their  own 
minister.  Their  prayers  first  brought  to  him  new 
blessing  and  new  power  in  preaching ;  then,  as 
souls  were  won,  the  work  spread  to  other  con- 
gregations ;  the  circle  of  prayer  expanded  and 
became  more  inclusive ;  differences  of  doctrine 
and  polity  were  forgotten  in  the  bond  of  unity ; 
variety  of  congregational  life  was  merged  into 
community  of  work  for  souls.  As  aid  was 
needed,  the  most  spirit-filled  helpers  were  sought 
and  dependence  was  never  transferred  from  God 
to  man,  but  the  power  of  a  God-given  Gospel 
and  of  a  God-given  spirit  constantly  and  rever- 
ently recognized. 

"  Contrast  all  this  with  modern  efforts  to  secure 
revival.  A  private  pamphlet,  prepared  by  a 
certain  evangelist  as  a  guide  to  committees  who 
were  making  ready  for  his  coming,  proved  to 
be  shockingly  full  of  dependence  on  *  business 
methods/  such  as  advertising,  striking  announce- 
ments,  big   posters,   etc.,   etc.,   he  would   have 


68     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

everything  done  to  create  public  furore  in  ad- 
vance. This  is  the  way  of  the  world,  and  it  is 
now  fast  becoming  the  way  of  the  Church. 

"  We  are  getting  away  from  dependence  on 
ordinary  means  of  grace,  whenever  we  do  not 
expect  any  widespread  blessing  on  the  preaching 
of  the  simple  Gospel  and  on  prayer,  and  on  per- 
sonal contact  with  souls.  We  must  have  several 
Churches  united,  and  great  meetings  with  dis- 
tinguished evangelists  and  great  choirs  with  far- 
famed  Gospel  singers,  or  we  look  for  no  divine 
outpourings.  All  this  is  unscriptural,  unspiritual, 
abnormal."  ^ 

But  why  insist  that  the  Holy  Spirit  must  act 
in  every  succeeding  age  as  he  has  moved  in  the 
past,  why  criticize  any  one  whom  God  uses  in 
his  service,  and  why  object  to  any  method  which 
seems  to  have  been  used  of  God  in  these  days 
when  the  need  for  workers  is  so  apparent  on 
every  side,  when  so  many  are  hopeless,  helpless 
and  lost,  why  not  each  work  in  his  own  way 
with  all  his  ingenuity  consecrated  and  all  his  life 
separated  unto  Christ,  confident  of  this,  as  he 
labors  on,  that  while  his  methods  may  be  very 
different  from  those  of  his  brother  worker,  yet  he 
I "  Forward  Movements  of  the  Last  Half  Century." 


METHODS  69 

may  be  assured  while  he  toils  that  he  has  the 
sympathy  and  support  of  all  who  have  the  inter- 
ests of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  at  heart,  and  need 
expect  no  harsh  criticism.  Quite  the  opposite  is 
too  frequently  true.  There  are  Christian  work- 
ers to-day  who  feel  that  nothing  is  doing  except 
it  is  being  done  according  to  their  plans  and 
have  only  criticism  for  those  who  attempt  the 
use  of  a  new  method,  or  put  in  operation  some 
new  plan  which  they  have  never  before  tried. 
This  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  brotherly,  and  to  put 
it  more  emphatically  it  is  not  Christlike.  Let 
this  be  the  test  of  any  and  every  method.  It  is 
useful  and  of  value  only  in  so  far  as  it  works  to 
bring  men  to  the  hearing  of  the  Gospel,  and 
eventually  persuades  them  to  come  to  Christ. 
However  there  are  certain  suggestions  of  a  gen- 
eral character  which  may  be  useful  to  us. 

"  Every  pastor  has  his  methods  in  working 
with  and  for  his  Church,  and  in  getting  his 
Church  to  work.  The  exact  nature  of  these 
methods  is  of  less  importance  than  the  fact  that 
the  methods  are  his  own, — methods  with  which 
he  is  acquainted  and  which  he  can  handle. 
Ecclesiastical  methods,  like  personal  habits,  are 
constitutional.     If  they  are  not  his  own,  if  he 


yo     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

fails  to  understand  them,  he  is  quite  as  helpless 
as  David  in  Goliath's  armor,  or  as  Goliath  with 
David's  sling  and  stones.  In  his  use  of  methods 
of  work  the  pastor  is  exposed  to  perils. 

"  Among  these  perils  is  the  danger  of  behev- 
ing  that  methods  which  are  successful  in  one 
Church  will  prove  successful  in  another,  or  that 
methods  which  succeed  in  a  Church  at  one  time 
will  always  succeed.  Methods  should  be  very 
elastic.  They  should  be  capable  of  great  adapt- 
iveness.  They  should  be  adjusted  to  the  peculiar 
needs  of  each  Church. 

"  In  every  respect  a  pastor  should  hold  himself 
ready  to  surrender  or  to  alter  his  methods  accord- 
ing to  the  demands  of  the  place  or  the  time.  In 
thus  doing  the  pastor  is  guarded  from  a  not 
uncommon  peril, — namely,  of  believing  that 
methods  have  intrinsic  worth.  Of  course  we  all 
know  that  they  are  good  only  so  far  forth  as 
they  do  good;  yet  long  associations  with 
methods  may  result  in  transferring  our  regard 
for  the  end  to  the  means  by  which  the  end  is 
gained."  ^ 

Jesus  had  innumerable  methods.  Sometimes 
he  talked  in  a  conversational  tone,  again  he 
> "  The  Working  Church." 


METHODS  71 

cried  out  after  the  manner  of  an  evangelist; 
sometimes  he  told  stories  as  in  the  parables  of 
the  kingdom ;  again  he  enunciated  great  prin- 
ciples as  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Some- 
times he  taught  just  by  his  presence  as  in  the 
wedding  at  Canaan  of  Galilee,  and  again  he 
stood  on  the  mountain-top  and  cried  out  with 
an  almost  breaking  heart,  "  Oh  Jerusalem ! 
Jerusalem ! " 

There  is  a  Scriptural  warrant  for  changing  our 
methods  in  the  Church  until  we  have  one  which 
compels  the  attention  of  the  lost  and  seems  to 
have  the  approval  of  God. 

How  long  did  the  shepherd  look  for  his  sheep ; 
the  woman  for  her  lost  piece  of  money,  and  for 
how  long  a  time  did  the  father  wait  for  his  boy  ? 
Until  the  lost  was  found,  and  this  word  "  until " 
gives  us  our  Scriptural  authority  for  repeated 
change  in  methods  of  service. 

I  spent  one  summer  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
George  and  was  told  that  if  I  would  anchor  my 
boat  early  in  the  morning  at  a  certain  point  I 
would  be  assured  of  a  successful  catch  o^  fish.  I 
followed  instructions  implicitly  and  fished  from 
early  morning  until  ten  o'clock  with  never  a 
strike.     Then  the  old  fisherman  who  gave  me 


72     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

my  information  came  out,  anchored  his  boat 
about  twelve  feet  away  and  cast  his  line  with  the 
same  discouraging  results.  I  saw  him  bend 
over  in  the  boat  and  work  for  a  little  while  and 
then  cast  his  line  the  second  time  and  almost  in- 
stantly had  a  strike  which  resulted  in  a  beautiful 
fish,  and  with  open  eyed  wonder  I  sat  and  saw 
him  pull  in  fish  after  fish  for  at  least  an  hour. 
When  I  asked  him  the  secret  of  his  success, 
without  stopping  his  fishing  he  answered  back, 
"  I  just  changed  my  bait." 

How  often  this  is  necessary  in  the  Church  and 
how  frequently  it  is  true  that  we  are  unwilling  to 
change  the  method  we  have  used  for  years,  that 
which  has  been  in  vogue  in  the  lives  of  our 
fathers,  just  because  the  method  is  old. 

Jesus  was  not  such  a  teacher  as  this.  He  said, 
"  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men." 

With  regard  to  methods  of  evangelistic  work 
it  is  almost  dangerous  to  write  for  fear  that  men 
may  trust  the  method  rather  than  look  to  him 
who  is  the  power  back  of  it,  but  there  are  cer- 
tain general  principles  which  may  be  always  kept 
in  mind. 

In  a  recent  sermon  the  Rev.  David  Gregg,  D. 
D.,  has  said,  "  We  have  one  grand  fact  which  we 


METHODS  73 

should  constantly  keep  in  mind,  and  that  is  this, 
Men  have  been  successfully  reached  and  brought 
to  Christ,  and  in  the  New  Testament  the  differ- 
ent ways  in  which  men  were  brought  to  Jesus  in 
the  beginning  are  plainly  set  before  us.  They 
came  by  means  of  the  Gospel  sermon ;  thus  John 
and  Andrew  were  converted.  They  were 
brought  to  Jesus  by  means  of  family  influence ; 
it  was  in  this  way  that  Peter  came." 

They  were  brought  to  him  by  the  personal 
efforts  of  their  converted  neighbors ;  it  was  in 
this  way  that  Nathaniel  was  brought  to  Christ. 
PhiHp  was  Nathaniel's  neighbor  and  he  went  to 
Nathaniel  and  told  him  that  he  had  found  Christ. 

They  were  brought  to  him  by  a  combination 
of  personal  forces.  This  was  the  way  the  para- 
lytic was  brought  into  his  presence.  He  was 
borne  of  four,  one  man  had  not  the  power  to 
carry  him,  neither  had  two  ;  three  could  possibly 
only  have  done  it  with  difficulty,  but  the  combi- 
nation of  four  made  the  effort  a  success. 

Men  were  brought  to  Jesus  by  the  creation  of 
a  Christlike  atmosphere  in  the  community.  The 
Disciples  in  the  beginning  filled  the  air  with  the 
name  and  the  works  and  praises  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  repeated  his   sayings,  retold  his  parables 


74     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

and  preached  over  his  sermons  as  they  went, 
they  actually  talked  him  into  popularity,  they 
made  the  air  literally  ring  with  his  coronation, 
shouting, "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,  blessed 
is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  Ho- 
sanna in  the  highest." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  in  those  days  the  Church 
made  progress  by  leaps  and  bounds.  It  would 
be  so  to-day  if  the  conditions  were  only  once 
more  fulfilled. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR 

Just  what  is  an  evangelistic  pastor  ?  Perhaps 
we  shall  better  reach  an  understanding  concern- 
ing his  position  if  we  answer  the  question  nega- 
tively. 

First:  He  is  not  of  necessity  one  who 
preaches  constantly  along  what  is  known  as 
evangelistic  lines.  There  are  very  many  people 
to-day  who  seem  to  think  that  the  pastor  is  not 
doing  evangelistic  work  unless  he  is  regularly 
giving  an  invitation  in  so  many  words  and  all 
the  time  calling  men  to  repent.  This  is  not 
necessarily  true  as  we  shall  show  later,  for  fre- 
quently the  best  invitation  is  not  spoken  by  the 
lips — but  by  the  very  presence  of  the  man  of 
God. 

Second :  He  is  not  always  one  who  is  con- 
spicuous because  of  great  additions  to  his  mem- 
bership. There  are  men  to-day  whose  additions 
have  been  exceedingly  small  who  are  as  thor- 
oughly evangelistic  as  those  whose  success  has 
75 


76     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

been  far  more  remarkable.  With  the  minister 
as  with  the  Church  it  is  the  spirit  that  counts. 
If  he  has  a  real  concern  for  the  lost,  if  he  lives  a 
life  of  fellowship  with  Christ,  he  could  choose 
any  theme  for  his  people  and  it  would  be  appar- 
ent to  all  his  hearers  that  he  was  longing  for  the 
lost  to  know  Christ. 

He  need  not  of  necessity  close  every  sermon 
with  an  appeal,  although  that  is  frequently  the 
best  thing  to  do,  for  in  so  doing  we  impress  our 
hearers  with  our  confidence  in  our  message  and 
our  expectation  of  results. 

The  minister  of  the  seminary  church  where  I 
was  a  student  one  evening  preached  a  sermon 
and  then  returned  to  his  home  utterly  discour- 
aged because  he  felt  that  he  was  a  failure  in  the 
ministry  and  he  practically  determined  that  he 
would  never  preach  again,  yet  at  the  same  time 
he  was  conscious  that  he  had  been  greatly  bur- 
dened for  the  lost.  Some  time  past  midnight  his 
door-bell  rang  and  the  leader  of  his  choir,  who 
had  been  counted  a  skeptic,  came  to  him  to  say, 
"  Doctor,  I  am  in  an  agony  concerning  my  soul. 
Your  sermon  to-night  has  convicted  me  of  my 
sin  and  I  must  have  help  or  I  shall  die."  In  a 
very  short  time  he  was  rejoicing  in  Christ.     Then 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR    -^-^ 

said  the  minister  to  him,  "  What  was  it  in  my 
sermon  that  moved  you,  I  should  Hke  to  have 
you  tell  me."  The  man  replied,  "  It  was  not  so 
much,  sir,  what  you  said  but  the  way  you  said  it. 
I  could  see  by  the  look  in  your  eye  and  by  the 
very  pathos  in  your  voice  that  you  were  longing 
for  men  to  be  saved  and  I  could  not  resist  your 
message."  But  there  is  a  positive  answer  to  the 
question  to-day.  Let  us  consider  that  side 
of  it. 

First :  That  man  is  evangelistic  who  is  truly 
a  man  of  prayer  and  Bible  study,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  one  of  intense  earnest  action.  The 
greatest  fanatics  I  know  are  those  who  study  the 
Bible  and  pray  almost  without  ceasing  and  then 
stop  with  these  devotions.  They  do  not  fit  into 
practice  in  their  daily  lives  the  message  God 
gave  them  in  his  Word  and  the  vision  he  vouch- 
safed unto  them  in  their  prayers,  so  on  the  one 
side  there  must  be  prayer  and  Bible  study ;  we 
cannot  have  too  much  of  it,  while  on  the  other 
side  there  is  the  translation  into  life  of  those 
things  which  God  has  given  us.  It  was  thus 
that  Finney  prayed,  read  God's  word  and 
worked,  and  it  was  thus  that  Mr.  Moody  lived 
and  preached. 


78     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Second :  That  man  is  evangelistic  in  his 
preaching  who  realizes  that  men  are  lost  without 
Christ  and  that  the  Gospel  is  the  only  way  of 
salvation.  He  believes  that  it  is  not  so  much  a 
question  either  of  character  or  conduct  primarily 
as  of  the  new  birth.  He  realizes  that  "  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death,  and  the  soul  that  sinneth 
it  shall  die."  With  such  a  conviction  as  this  if 
he  is  true  to  his  ordination  vows  and  also  true  to 
the  word  of  God  he  can  preach  in  no  halting, 
hesitating  way. 

An  old  Scotch  woman  went  to  hear  Robert 
Murray  McCheyenne  preach  for  the  first  time. 
Some  one  asked  her  what  she  thought  of  him. 
She  hesitated  for  a  moment  and  then  said,  what 
I  am  sure  any  true  minister  had  rather  have  said 
about  him  than  that  he  was  the  most  brilliant 
preacher  among  men.  She  said,  "  The  man 
preaches  as  if  he  was  a-dyin'  to  have  you  con- 
verted." Oh,  for  such  a  spirit  as  this  in  the  min- 
istry to-day.  Thank  God  for  the  men  who  have 
great  intellectual  power,  for  those  who  bear  well 
their  scholastic  honors  to  which  they  are  cer- 
tainly entitled,  but  is  it  not  true  that  what  we 
need  to-day  more  than  anything  else  is  a  gra- 
cious outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  an  energiz- 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR    79 

ing  of  that  power  which  comes  only  from  on 
high,  that  we  may  preach  for  souls  ? 

The  pastor  is  preeminently  the  soul  winner  in 
his  own  parish.  No  one  can  take  his  place.  If 
he  is  not  faithful  to  those  over  whom  God  has 
made  him  the  overseer,  he  shall  be  called  to  ac- 
count at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  Whatever 
we  may  believe  concerning  the  office  of  the 
evangelist,  and  we  must  believe  thoroughly  in 
this,  however  necessary  it  may  be  that  we  should 
give  him  his  rightful  place  in  the  Church,  and 
many  agree  that  this  is  almost  an  absolute  neces- 
sity, yet  no  evangelist  can  supplant  the  pastor  in 
the  matter  of  soul  winning.  But  if  the  pastor  is 
to  be  successful  there  are  certain  points  which 
must  be  emphasized  concerning  his  life  and  this 
to  a  greater  degree  even  than  in  the  experience 
of  the  ordinary  pastor  of  a  church  who  may  hold 
a  congregation  together  because  of  eloquent  or 
intellectual  achievements,  because  of  winning 
social  qualities  or  by  a  striking  personality.  No 
pastor  can  ever  be  a  soul  winner  without  atten- 
tion is  given  to. 

First :  His  private  life.  One  might  preach 
an  ordinary  sermon  and  by  force  of  intellect  or 
power  of  magnetism   interest   an   assembly.     I 


8o     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

have  in  mind  a  man  who  for  years  led  an  im- 
pure life  yet  while  he  interested  his  congregation 
with  his  masterful  gifts  he  never  won  a  soul  to 
the  Master,  and  if  any  one  should  say  in  answer 
to  this,  "  But  are  there  not  evangelists  whose 
lives  are  unclean  and  yet  who  have  a  measure  of 
success  ?  "  my  answer  would  be,  "  The  evangelist 
may  be  reaping  a  harvest  the  seed  of  which  has 
been  sown  by  some  godly  pastor,"  and  so  the 
illustration  still  holds.  But  to  be  a  soul  winner 
is  entirely  different.  The  private  life  must  be 
taken  into  account.  There  are  trees  the  spread 
of  whose  roots  under  ground  equals  the  spread 
of  their  branches  above  ground,  and  this  leads 
me  to  say  that  no  man  can  be  a  soul  winner  in 
the  ministry  without  he  is  right  in  his  home, 
right  in  his  study,  right  in  his  devotion,  right  in 
his  heart,  or  in  other  words  lives  in  private  what 
he  preaches  in  public.  Our  people  forget  our 
texts,  they  frequently  forget  our  particular  forms 
of  expression  but  the  spirit  of  the  message  we 
have  delivered  is  about  them  not  infrequently  for 
a  lifetime. 

A  prominent  American  preacher  told  me  that 
he  once  preached  in  Robert  Murray  Mc- 
Cheyenne's  pulpit,  and  he  asked  if  any  one  there 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR    8i 

had  heard  McCheyenne  preach.  One  old  man  was 
brought  to  the  front.  "  Can  you  tell  me,"  said 
the  minister, "  some  of  the  texts  of  McCheyenne?" 
and  the  old  man  made  reply,  "  I  don't  remember 
them."  "  Then  can  you  tell  me  some  sentences 
he  used  ?  "  and  again  the  reply  was,  "  I  have  en- 
tirely forgotten  them."  With  a  feeling  of  disap- 
pointment the  great  preacher  said,  "  Well,  don't 
you  remember  anything  about  him  at  all?" 
"  Ah,"  said  the  man,  "  that  is  a  different  ques- 
tion. I  do  remember  something  about  him. 
When  I  was  a  lad  by  the  roadside  playing,  one 
day  Robert  Murray  McCheyenne  came  along 
and  laying  his  hand  upon  my  head  he  said, 
'  Jamie,  lad,  I  am  away  to  see  your  poor  sick 
sister,'  and  then  looking  into  my  eyes  he  said, 
*  And  Jamie,  I  am  very  concerned  about  your 
own  soul.'  I  have  forgotten  his  texts  and  his 
sermons,  sir,  but  I  can  feel  the  tremble  of  his 
hand  and  I  can  still  see  the  tear  in  his  eye." 

Let  us  remember  it  is  not  so  much  what  we 
say  as  the  way  we  say  it  that  constitutes  the 
minister  the  soul  winner. 

Second :  The  very  greatest  attention  must  be 
paid  to  the  prayer  life  if  the  pastor  is  to  be  a 
winner  of  souls,  and  I  doubt  not  but  that  the 


82     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

most  of  us  fail  just  here,  largely  because  of  the 
fact  that  we  are  so  busy,  for  very  few  people  un- 
derstand the  responsibility  and  obHgations  rest- 
ing upon  a  pastor ;  from  morning  until  night  and 
often  night  till  morning  he  is  at  the  call  of  his 
people  and  of  the  citizens  of  the  city  or  town 
where  he  may  live,  and  it  is  such  an  easy  thing  to 
pray  in  a  perfunctory  sort  of  way  or  not  to  pray 
at  all.  A  very  few  may  be  unmindful  of  prayer 
because  of  selfishness,  a  few  others  because  of  in- 
difference, but  perhaps  many  of  us  because  we 
do  not  appreciate  what  the  power  of  prayer  is. 

In  the  revival  of  1857,  when  Canon  Ryle  sent 
out  his  celebrated  appeal  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land he  made  this  statement,  that  he  had  looked 
the  Bible  through  and  found  that  wherever  there 
was  a  man  of  prayer  there  was  a  man  of  power ; 
that  he  had  studied  the  history  of  the  Church 
and  had  learned  that  wherever  there  was  a  man 
or  woman  of  power  there  was  one  who  knew 
how  to  pray.  He  said  some  were  Armenians, 
some  Calvinists,  some  rich,  some  poor,  some  were 
wise  and  some  ignorant,  some  loved  the  liturgy, 
and  some  cared  little  for  it,  but  all  knew  how  to 
pray. 

Jesus  was  an  illustration  of  this.     In  Mark  we 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR    83 

read,  "  A  great  while  before  day  he  went  away 
to  pray."  He  was  the  Son  of  God  yet  he  would 
not  begin  a  day  without  prayer.  It  is  to  be 
noticed,  however,  that  the  day  begun  thus  with 
prayer  ended  with  the  heaHng  of  the  leper.  If 
the  Son  of  God  could  not  start  the  day  without 
communing  with  God  how  dangerous  it  is  for 
any  of  us  to  try  it. 

In  Matthew  we  learn  that  after  he  had  fed  the 
multitudes  he  went  away  in  a  quiet  place  to 
pray.  He  had  just  worked  the  miracle  and  yet 
he  prays.  I  have  a  friend  in  heaven  who  used 
to  say  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  use  a  victory 
than  to  gain  one,  by  which  she  meant  that  the 
most  dangerous  day  for  us  was  the  day  following 
a  mountain-top  experience,  for  we  are  so  liable 
to  try  to  live  upon  the  past  rather  than  upon  the 
present  promises  of  God.  Jesus  prayed  before 
the  miracle  and  after  the  miracle,  by  day  and  by 
night.     What  a  rebuke  he  is  to  some  of  us. 

In  Luke  we  read  that  as  he  prayed  the  fash- 
ion of  his  countenance  was  changed.  To  my 
mind  this  is  one  of  the  best  illustrations.  It  will 
be  a  glad  day  in  the  Church  when  those  of  us 
who  know  Christ  show  by  our  faces  that  we 
have  been   in   fellowship   with   him.     There   is 


84     PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

something  about  the  look  of  the  eye,  the  ring  of 
the  voice  and  the  atmosphere  of  a  man  who 
knows  how  to  pray  that  carries  conviction  al- 
ways. 

In  John  we  read  that  he  stooped  down  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  after  he  had  prayed  and  said, 
"  Lazarus,  come  forth." 

I  had  a  letter  one  day  from  some  one  who 
wanted  me  to  write  on  a  postal  card  the  rules  for 
soul  winning.  This  seemed  a  strange  request 
when  I  remembered  that  I  had  a  book  in  my 
library  larger  than  my  Bible  on  "  How  to  Win 
Souls,"  and  yet  you  can  write  the  rules  upon  a 
postal  card.  Indeed  there  is  but  one  rule,  "  Lord, 
teach  us  to  pray."  The  man  who  knows  how  to 
pray  in  the  right  way  is  a  soul  winner  always. 
Whatever  may  be  one's  intellectual  ability  there- 
fore without  prayer  he  is  weak  in  this  direction. 
This  is  true  whether  he  is  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the 
pew,  whether  he  is  a  Sunday-school  teacher,  or 
the  superintendent  or  just  a  member  of  the 
Church. 

Third :  If  the  pastor  is  to  be  a  soul  winner 
close  attention  must  be  paid  to  his  public  life. 
It  must  in  every  sense  accord  with  his  message. 
He  cannot  preach  about  prayer  and  himself  be 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   PASTOR   85 

prayerless,  nor  can  he  talk  of  power  and  be 
powerless,  nor  can  he  speak  of  consecration  and 
live  a  selfish  life,  nor  can  he  talk  of  the  concern 
of  Jesus  and  himself  be  unconcerned.  Unless 
the  private  life  and  the  public  preaching  strike  in 
unison  the  preacher  is  not  a  soul  winner,  nor  is 
the  Sunday-school  teacher,  nor  the  superin- 
tendent, nor  is  any  Christian. 

Fourth :  No  minister  can  be  a  soul  winner 
without  he  gives  close  attention  to  his  pulpit 
life.  This  suggests  the  theme  of  the  sermon 
which  must  always  and  ever  be  the  gospel.  It 
has  not  lost  its  power  whatever  men  may  say 
to  the  contrary,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is 
true  that  wherever  men  are  really  drawing 
crowds  of  people  and  holding  them  their  theme 
is  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  Sen- 
sationalism may  draw  for  a  time  but  the  gospel 
steadily  wins  and  always  holds.  We  boast  a 
great  deal  in  these  days  of  our  great  men  and 
noble  women  in  America,  philanthropists,  states- 
men, missionaries,  our  honored  fathers  and 
mothers,  but  in  so  far  as  they  are  Christians,  and 
the  most  of  them  are,  they  have  drawn  their  in- 
spiration for  holy  living  from  the  story  of  Jesus 
the  Son  of  God ;  cradled  in  the  manger,  living  at 


86     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Nazareth,  preaching  in  GaHlee,  suffering  in 
Gethsemane,  scourged  in  Jerusalem,  dying  upon 
the  cross,  buried  in  the  tomb,  rising  with  power, 
ascending  up  into  heaven,  seated  in  glory  and 
coming  again  with  majesty  and  power.  Could 
there  be  a  grander  message  than  this,  and  that 
minister  who  delivers  it  fearlessly  and  yet  tenderly 
in  the  very  spirit  of  Jesus  himself  will  be  a  soul 
winner.  It  has  always  been  true,  but  in  addition 
to  this  the  message  must  be. 

First :  Practical.  I  know  that  I  speak  for  a 
great  army  of  busy  men  and  women  in  this 
world  when  I  saw  that  these  people  have  little 
time  to  listen  to  philosophical  discussions  and 
mere  intellectual  discourses.  Life  is  too  short 
for  this  and  as  a  result  of  the  experiences  of  the 
week  they  are  too  weary  to  give  the  time  to 
listening  to  what  will  not  help  them  in  their 
living,  and  the  majority  of  them  come  to  the 
Church  to  hear  the  truth  that  will  make  them 
better  and  truer  in  every  way,  and  more  of 
the  people  of  the  world  would  join  them  in 
their  worship  if  they  were  sure  that  they 
would  hear  from  the  pulpit  the  gospel  which 
has  ever  *  transformed  lives  and  strengthened 
character. 


THE    EVANGELISTIC    PASTOR    87 

Second:  It  must  be  personal.  A  distin- 
guished New  York  pastor  tells  of  preaching  a 
sermon  one  day  in  which  he  said  to  his  people 
"  every  one  in  this  church  is  either  a  channel  or 
^  barrier  for  spiritual  power  in  his  relation  to- 
wards God."  One  prominent  man  returned  to  his 
home,  entered  his  library  and  determined  to  find 
out  which  he  was  and  learned  that  he  was  a  bar- 
rier. 

Before  he  left  the  room  he  determined  that 
from  that  time  on  he  would  be  a  channel.  The 
next  day  he  began  to  speak  to  his  employees. 
The  first  was  a  CathoHc  and  he  urged  him  to  be 
a  true  Catholic.  Among  them  came  his  private 
secretary  and  he  asked  him  if  he  had  kept  his 
promises  to  him  and  if  he  had  been  a  good  em- 
ployer. Thinking  that  perhaps  he  was  about  to 
be  discharged  the  private  secretary  asked  him 
what  fault  he  had  to  find  with  him,  when  he  said, 
"  It  is  not  that  but  I  am  a  Christian  and  I  am 
bound  for  heaven  and  I  should  not  like  to  go 
without  asking  you  to  go  with  me."  Out  from 
that  one  store  thirteen  men  have  been  won  for 
Christ  by  the  testimony  of  this  consecrated  busi- 
ness man.  The  time  has  come  when  ministers 
have  had  given  to  them  an  opportunity  to  speak 


88     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

plainly  and  personally  to  their  people  and  if  they 
speak  in  the  spirit  of  Christ  the  message  will  be 
received  gladly  and  many  lives  will  be  com- 
pletely changed. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   EVANGELISTIC   SERMON 

In  a  conference  of  ministers  gathered  not  long 
ago  to  discuss  the  general  subject  of  evangelistic 
work  the  sermon  was  naturally  discussed. 

One  minister  said,  "  An  evangelistic  sermon  is 
one  that  reaches  out  after  a  soul ; "  another  said, 
"  It  is  a  sermon  which  has  enough  of  the  Gospel 
in  it  so  that  if  one  should  hear  the  preacher  but 
once  he  would  know  what  he  must  do  to  be 
saved."  Still  another  said,  "  It  is  a  sermon 
which  provokes  a  crisis  in  the  hearer's  life  which 
is  rather  the  best  definition,  because  it  at  once  is 
apparent  that  men  may  be  evangelistic  and 
preach  not  only  for  the  winning  of  souls  but  for 
the  upbuilding  of  character."  An  evangelistic 
sermon  is  one  which  has  a  definite  aim  and  that 
aim  is  the  winning  of  the  lost  to  Christ,  and  then 
the  building  up  in  Christ  of  those  who  are  won. 
It  is  a  sermon  which  may  be  practically  applied 
in  our  every-day  living,  and  is  by  all  means  a 
sermon  which  impresses  one  with  his  need  for 
89 


90     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Christ  and  the  absolute  sincerity  in  the  desire 
of  the  preacher  that  he  may  be  saved. 

There  may  be  at  least  four  distinct  marks  of  an 
evangelistic  sermon. 

First:  It  is  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Since  he  knows  the  hearts  of  men,  inspired  men 
to  write  the  word  of  God,  and  at  the  same  time 
is  fully  acquainted  with  us  as  his  instruments,  it 
naturally  follows  that  he  can  suggest  the  theme 
and  its  manner  of  treatment  which  would  be 
most  effective  in  reaching  the  lost  if  we  did  but 
give  him  the  chance  to  do  so. 

The  late  George  H.  C.  MacGregor  told  me 
that  he  came  one  night  to  his  London  pulpit 
with  his  sermon  carefully  prepared,  for  he  was  a 
thorough  student,  and  suddenly  became  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  for  some  reason  he 
ought  to  turn  aside  from  his  well-thought  out 
sermon  and  give  an  entirely  different  message, 
for  which  he  was  in  his  judgment  not  so  well 
equipped.  But  he  followed  his  leading,  preach- 
ing his  sermon  not  with  great  satisfaction  to  him- 
self, and  possibly  with  not  such  great  delight  to 
his  people,  but  the  next  morning  he  found  a 
letter  on  his  table  in  which  the  writer  said,  "  I 
was  on  my  way  to  end  my  life  last  night  and 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   SERMON   91 

dropped  into  your  church  just  to  pass  away  the 
time.  I  do  not  remember  your  singing,  nor  the 
words  you  spoke,  but  the  text  you  chose  was  my 
mother's  favorite.  It  was  her  last  message  to  me 
when  I  left  home  as  a  boy,  and  I  could  not  get 
away  from  it  last  night.  Instead  of  being  a  sui- 
cide to-day  I  have  become  a  Christian."  "  From 
that  day  till  this,"  said  this  sainted  preacher,  "  I 
have  tried  to  deliver  no  message  that  was  not 
clearly  dictated  both  in  the  choice  of  the  text 
and  the  development  of  the  theme  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God." 

Second :  The  evangelistic  sermon  is  one 
which  is  wrought  out  in  prayer  and  preached  in 
the  power  of  prayer.  There  is  a  tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  preacher  when  he  is  intellectually 
well  versed  in  his  message  to  depend  upon  his 
preparation,  his  power  as  an  orator  and  his 
natural  ability  to  move  men,  but  in  the  evangel- 
istic sermon,  which  is  to  lead  men  to  Christ,  not 
alone  must  these  things  move  him,  but  also  that 
strength  which  comes  by  prayer.  It  is  only 
when  the  sermon  has  been  wrought  out  on  our 
knees  and  is  preached  in  the  consciousness,  that 
the  one  of  whom  we  speak  is  just  at  our  side, 
that  there  is  power  in  it  to  persuade  the  lost. 


92     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Third :  An  evangelistic  sermon  is  one  which 
is  preached  first  of  all  to  oneself.  It  is  a  good 
thing  when  the  message  is  completed,  not  only 
to  g6  over  it  on  our  knees,  but  to  go  over  it  for 
ourselves.  The  point  that  fails  to  move  us  we 
might  as  well  cut  out,  for  there  is  this  sure  test 
of  the  power  of  the  sermon,  it  will  as  a  rule  move 
our  hearers  in  the  same  proportion  that  it  has 
moved  ourselves.  If  it  has  helped  us  it  will  help 
others.  Mr.  Spurgeon  used  to  say  true  preach- 
ing is  artesian,  it  wells  up  from  great  depths. 
This  is  especially  true  of  evangelistic  preaching. 

Fourth :  An  evangelistic  sermon  is  one  which 
is  preached  with  the  expectation  of  results.  "  I 
preached  the  Gospel,"  said  a  minister  to  me  the 
other  day  in  a  western  city.  "  I  know  it  was 
the  Gospel,  and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  two 
women  came  to  ask  what  they  could  do  to  be 
saved.  I  confess  to  my  shame  that  I  was  sur- 
prised." 

Evangelistic  preachers  have  always  found  it 
true  that  in  proportion  as  they  have  expected 
results  and  preached  in  the  power  of  their 
expectation  God  has  seemed  to  honor  their 
effort  and  to  inspire  others  with  the  same  en- 
thusiasm. 


THE   EVANGELISTIC    SERMON   9? 

Fifth  :  An  evangelistic  sermon  is  one  which 
is  well  illustrated.  There  are  many  in  the  pulpit 
to-day  who  are  afraid  of  illustrations.  They  ridi- 
cule the  simple  story  telling  preacher,  and  in 
some  instances  they  have  a  right  to  do  so,  but 
let  us  not  forget  that  Jesus  constantly  told  stories 
of  the  flowers  at  his  feet,  of  the  birds  that  flew 
above  his  head,  of  the  woman  that  baked  bread, 
of  the  farmer  that  sowed  the  seed,  of  the  old 
father  that  waited  for  his  boy.  He  never 
preached  a  sermon  without  an  illustration,  in- 
deed without  many  of  them,  but  the  illustration 
must  illustrate. 

One  of  our  prominent  ministers  in  this  coun- 
try in  telling  of  the  visit  of  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Lorenz  to  this  country  told  of  the  little  boy  who 
was  operated  upon  for  the  straightening  of  his 
foot.  He  said  after  he  was  out  from  under  the 
power  of  the  anaesthetic,  "  It  will  be  a  long  time 
before  my  mother  hears  the  last  of  this,  doctor," 
and  then  he  told  the  story  also  of  a  boy  of  his 
own  acquaintance  from  a  poor  German  family, 
whose  foot  was  crooked  and  who  was  operated 
upon  by  a  celebrated  doctor.  The  operation 
was  a  success  and  then  the  minister  under  whose 
influence  the  work  had  been  done  went  to  the 


94    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

hospital  to  take  the  boy  home.  The  plaster 
caste  is  taken  away  from  the  foot  and  it  is  as 
perfect  as  the  other.  When  his  attention  was 
called  to  the  nurses  in  the  hospital,  to  the  equip- 
ment of  the  institution,  to  the  fine  windows  in 
the  building,  to  every  suggestion  the  boy  would 
reply,  "  But  these  things  are  nothing  compared 
with  the  doctor.  He  is  the  greatest  man  I  have 
ever  known."  And  when  they  reached  the  Mis- 
souri town  and  they  stepped  off  the  train  the  old 
German  mother  was  waiting  to  receive  her  child. 
She  did  not  look  at  his  hands,  neither  at  his  face 
but  she  fell  on  her  knees  and  looked  at  his  foot 
and  then  cried  out  with  tears,  "  It  is  just  like  any 
other  foot."  As  she  took  the  boy  in  her  arms 
sobbing  over  and  over  he  kept  saying  to  her, 
"  Mother,  you  must  know  the  doctor,  you  must 
know  the  doctor."  Then  the  preacher  turned 
upon  his  audience  to  say,  "and  yet  there  is 
no  one  of  us  but  what  Jesus  Christ  has  done 
ten  thousand  times  more  than  the  doctor  did 
for  that  boy  and  we  have  never  spoken  for 
him." 

This  illustration  is  a  sermon  in  itself.  It  was 
something  in  the  every-day  life  of  the  preacher. 
There  are  hundreds  of  instances  like  it  occurring 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   SERMON   95 

in  the  year.  Ability  to  see  these  things  and  to 
apply  them  in  our  teaching  and  preaching  would 
increase  our  effectiveness  almost  a  hundred- 
fold. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   EVANGELISTIC   CHURCH 

There  is  a  general  inquiry  to-day  in  all  parts 
of  the  Church  both  on  the  part  of  ministers  and 
laymen  concerning  the  evangelistic  Church.  It 
is  possibly  true  also  that  there  is  in  many  quar- 
ters of  the  Church  a  misconception  as  to  what 
the  spirit  and  the  work  of  such  a  Church  should 
be.  The  commission  given  by  the  great  head  of 
the  Church  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures. 

Matthew  28:  16-20. 
Mark  16:   15-20. 
Luke  24:  46-49. 
Acts  2 :  1-4. 
From  all  of  which  we  learn, 
First :     That  God  expects  us  to  evangelize  the 
unsaved    and    the    unchurched    masses.     If    a 
church  is  not  evangelistic,  it  will  soon  cease  to 
be  evangelical. 

Second :     That  God  equips  us  to  evangelize. 

He  has  left  undone  no  part  of  his  work.     It  is 
96 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   CHURCH  97 

no  question  as  to  our  own  ability  or  fitness,  but 
altogether  a  question  as  to  his  filling  us  with 
that  power  which  enables  us  to  do  his  will,  and 
this  he  has  pledged  himself  in  his  word  to  do. 

Third :  If  he  expects  and  equips,  then  he 
will  one  day  require  at  our  hands  an  accounting 
for  the  field  we  might  have  occupied  and  the 
power  we  might  have  possessed. 

I.    The  Church. 

What  is  the  Church?  Whatever  other  defini- 
tion may  be  given  this  at  least  is  correct  so  far  as 
our  conception  of  the  evangelistic  Church  is 
concerned : 

It  is  the  body  of  behevers  united  by  faith  to 
Christ  who  is  the  living  Head.  This  at  once  sug- 
gests a  line  of  truth  regarding  the  conduct  of 
the  body. 

There  used  to  be  a  man  in  Washington  who  as 
he  walked  the  streets  always  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  passers-by  to  himself. 

First :  Because  of  his  remarkable  head  which 
they  said  was  more  hke  the  head  of  Daniel 
Webster  than  any  other  since  his  day.  And 
secondly  because  of  his  deformed  body.  The 
first  was  a  look  of  admiration,  the  second  one  of 


98     PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

pity,  and  is  this  not  a  truth  for  us  ?  Our  head  is 
perfect ;  when  he  was  here  among  men  they 
said,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  Now 
that  he  is  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  God  he  is 
the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand  and  the  one  alto- 
gether lovely.  But  concerning  the  body,  in  some 
places  at  least  we  are  privileged  to  say  that  it 
poorly  represents  him  and  illy  illustrates  his  spirit. 
If  he  is  the  head  and  the  Church  is  the  body 
then  it  naturally  follows  that  we  are  expected  to 
do  his  will,  and  at  once  the  question  is  asked, 
"  But  may  we  know  his  will  ? "  "  Certainly 
we  may  know  it,  by  studying  carefully  his 
instructions  to  his  disciples  ; "  in  the  early  days 
he  said,  as  he  sent  them  forth,  "  I  will  make 
you  fishers  of  men,"  and  as  he  sent  out  the 
seventy  it  was  to  preach  and  to  teach.  In  his 
parables  and  his  sermons  the  same  spirit  is 
plainly  manifest,  and  since  he  is  the  unchanging 
Christ,  his  will  of  other  days  is  his  will  for  to- 
day. In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  we  read, 
"  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever,"  but  in  the  Revision  there  is  a  change 
made  in  the  translation  and  we  read,  "  Jesus 
Christ  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  yea  and  for- 
ever."    There  is  the  addition  of  the  word  "  yea." 


THE    EVANGELISTIC   CHURCH  99 

Some  one  has  suggested  that  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  is  writing  concerning  the  Jesus  of  yester- 
day and  to-day  being  the  same,  when  suddenly, 
as  it  were,  the  very  angels  in  the  skies  break 
forth,  "  Yea  and  forever."  He  is  the  same  in 
heaven  in  his  purpose  and  desires  as  when  he 
walked  among  men  and  commissioned  them  to 
go  out  and  seek  the  lost  until  they  were  found. 

There  are  some  things  which  the  evangelistic 
Church  is  not. 

First :  It  is  not  of  necessity  a  Church  which 
holds  extra  services  although  these  are  as  a 
rule  advisable,  for  it  is  by  the  extraordinary 
service  that  the  attention  cf  some  is  called  to 
Christ  who  would  not  otherwise  think  of  him 
in  their  busy  lives,  yet  one  of  the  strongest 
Churches  in  America  never  passes  a  communion 
without  a  large  accession.  Recently  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  came  to  Christ  at  one  com- 
munion service,  and  it  is  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule  that  extra  services  are  held.  The 
sainted  Andrew  Bonar  it  is  said  rarely  held  an 
extra  service  and  never  passed  a  communion 
without  the  coming  of  many  into  the  fold. 

Second :  It  is  not  of  necessity  a  Church  of 
constant    accessions.     If  the   seed   is    faithfully 


loo   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

sown  and  there  is  an  earnest  evangelistic  purpose 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest  will  care  for  the  result. 
For  a  time  they  may  be  meagre  but  God's  state- 
ment is  true,  "  His  word  shall  not  return  unto 
him  void." 

Third  :  It  is  not  of  necessity  a  Church  having 
important  accessions  for  as  men  count  the  work 
frequently  it  is  a  failure  so  few  come  to  him,  as 
God  views  it  it  is  the  most  pronounced  success. 
When  the  old  Scotch  minister  said,  no  one  had 
joined  his  Church  for  a  long  period  of  time  ex- 
cept Bobbie  Moffatt,  he  little  knew  as  Joseph 
Parker  once  said,  that  when  he  added  Robert 
Moffatt  to  the  Church  he  practically  added  a 
continent  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  the 
spirit  of  the  Church  that  counts  and  if  under- 
lying every  public  service,  whether  it  be  the 
preaching  on  Sunday,  or  the  midweek  prayer 
service,  the  gathering  of  the  elders  or  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Sunday-school  teachers,  there  is 
plainly  manifest  a  real  concern  for  the  lost. 
With  such  conditions  prevailing  we  have  an 
evangelistic  Church. 

II.    The  Evangelistic. 
First:     The   evangelistic  Church  is  one,  th^ 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   CHURCH   loi 

spirit  of  which  breathes  a  welcome  to  every  one 
who  crosses  its  threshold,  and  whether  it  be  the 
minister's  sermon,  the  music  of  the  choir,  the 
grace  with  which  the  ushering  is  accomplished, 
the  welcome  given  to  the  stranger,  the  spirit  is 
all  the  spirit  of  Christ,  in  which  lost  men  are 
made  to  feel  their  need  of  him  and  are  impressed 
with  the  thought  that  there  is  hope  for  every  one 
away  from  him. 

Second  :  The  evangelistic  Church  is  one  will- 
ing to  use  any  method  whatever  that  method 
may  be  so  long  as  it  may  have  the  approval  of 
the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  and  may  detract 
nothing  from  his  honor  and  glory  and  not  in  any 
way  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  Since  the 
shepherd  sought  his  sheep  until  he  found  it,  and 
the  woman  her  piece  of  money  until  she  recovered 
it,  and  the  father  waited  for  his  boy  until  he  was 
home  once  more,  so  let  us  change  our  methods 
if  need  be  until  we  impress  the  lost  with  the  fact 
that  we  long  for  them  to  know  him  who  died 
that  they  might  live.  He  said  he  would  make 
us  fishers  of  men. 

Third :  The  evangelistic  Church  is  a  Church 
of  prayer.  It  is  said  that  when  Mr.  Moody  and 
Mr.   Sankey  went   as   strangers   across   the  sea 


I02    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

kheir  first  meeting  in  the  morning  was  a  dis- 
couragement and  in  the  evening  it  was  a  gra- 
cious manifestation  of  God's  power,  and  some 
time  afterwards  it  was  found  that  one  of  the 
members  of  that  Church  had  read  a  Httle  notice 
in  a  paper  concerning  the  work  of  the  unknown 
evangelists  Moody  and  Sankey  in  America  and 
had  prayed  God  to  send  them  to  her  land  and  to 
her  Church.  This  little  slip  of  paper  she  had 
kept  under  her  pillow  and  when  she  knew  that 
the  evangelists  had  come  she  burst  into  tears 
and  cried,  "  Now  lord,  letest  thou  thine  servant 
depart,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 
There  never  has  been  a  revival  in  history  that 
has  not  been  born  in  prayer.  There  never  has 
been  an  evangelistic  Church  since  the  Church 
was  dedicated  that  was  not  nurtured  by  prayer. 
The  time  has  come  to  call  the  followers  of  Christ 
to  their  knees.  It  would  seem  almost  as  if  God's 
set  time  to  favor  Zion  is  now  here. 

Fourth :  The  evangelistic  Church  is  one  in 
which  pastor  and  Church  are  practically  of  one 
mind.  Since  Jesus  himself  could  do  no  mighty 
works  because  of  their  unbelief,  how  can  a  pastor 
to-day  accomplish  very  much  if  he  is  opposed  by 
his  Church  or  hindered  by  indifference.     They 


THE   EVANGELISTIC    CHURCH  103 

must  both  together  have  one  mind  and  that 
the  mind  of  him  who  ever  sought  the  lost,  then 
there  is  a  mighty  force  brought  to  play  upon 
the  conscience  and  life  of  the  unsaved  which 
cannot  possibly  be  gainsaid. 

III.    A  Final  Word. 

First :  The  evangelistic  Church  is  an  organ- 
ized Church.  I  am  well  aware  that  we  may 
press  the  question  of  organization  too  far  but  at 
the  same  time  I  remember  that  our  God  is  a  God 
of  order  and  that  a  perfect  piece  of  machinery 
may  be  so  yielded  to  him  as  that  we  would  lose 
all  thought  of  the  machinery  and  stand  amazed 
at  the  exhibition  of  power. 

(a)  The  Church  officers  must  be  enlisted  in 
this  special  service  for  Christ,  Would  it  not  be 
possible  for  the  pastor  to  meet  his  officers  before 
he  preached  and  that  they  then  pray  for  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  his  sermon  ?  Would  it  not 
be  feasible  for  pastor  and  Church  officers  to  have 
at  least  one  meeting  a  month  when  only  prayer 
should  be  offered  for  God's  guidance  of  the 
Church  ?  In  some  Churches  this  plan  has  been 
adopted  and  nowhere  has  it  been  known  to  fail. 

(d)     The   men    of  the   Church   must   be  en- 


I04   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

listed.  Whatever  may  be  said  to  the  contrary 
this  is  the  testimony  of  workers  who  have  been 
successful  in  reaching  men  for  Christ,  the  work 
must  be  done  through  men.  I  am  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  power  of  a  mother's  prayer,  of  a  wife's 
example,  but  never  until  the  men  are  enlisted, 
banded  together,  thoroughly  consecrated  and 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  may  we  expect  the 
ingathering  from  their  ranks. 

(c)  The  sympathies  of  the  young  people 
should  be  enlisted.  Is  it  not  a  practical  thing  to 
suggest  that  for  at  least  three  months  of  time 
the  young  people  of  our  Churches  should  seek 
to  win  their  comrades  and  companions  for  Christ  ? 
This  could  be  done  in  many  cases  if  the  pastor 
and  the  Church  officers  would  show  their  sym- 
pathy by  their  presence,  would  counsel  the 
young  people  so  that  they  might  be  saved  from 
making  grievous  mistakes.  The  young  people 
of  our  churches  might  be  completely  transformed 
if  this  mission  were  held  up  before  them. 

(d)  The  Sunday-school  should  be  counted 
an  evangelizing  agency.  Since  it  is  true  that  the 
majority  of  the  people  coming  into  the  Church 
come  from  the  ranks  of  the  Sunday-school 
scholars,  we  have  an  illustration  which  to  say  the 


THE   EVANGELISTIC   CHURCH   105 

least  is  forceful,  but  we  have  only  begun  our 
work  in  this  direction.  The  majority  of  people 
in  the  Church  to-day  come  to  Christ  before  they 
are  twenty  years  of  age  and  if  we  miss  the 
organization  of  our  Sunday-schools  along  this 
line  we  are  guilty  at  least  of  a  mistake  for  which 
we  will  one  day  be  called  to  an  account.  Could 
there  not  be  arranged  conferences  with  the  super- 
intendents and  the  teachers,  the  older  scholars  in 
the  school,  when  prayer  would  be  offered  for  the 
unsaved  and  an  effort  be  made  to  lead  them  to 
Christ.  What  we  need,  however,  is  to  be  definite 
in  our  work. 

(e)  The  Church  itself  should  be  thoroughly 
organized.  Is  there  any  better  suggestion  to  be 
made  than  that  concerning  the  circle  of  prayer  ? 

How  TO  Form  a  Prayer  Circle. 

1.  Dedicate  yourself  to  God  for  this  service 
of  intercession. 

2.  Ask  him  for  the  anointing  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  you  may  be  "  a  vessel  unto  honor, 
sanctified  and  meet  for  the  master's  use,  and  pre- 
pared unto  *  this  '  good  work." 

3.  Ask  that  you  may  be  guided  as  to  whom 
you  should  invite  to  join  the  circle  of  prayer. 


io6   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

4.  In  prayer  seek  for  guidance  as  to  all  de- 
tails of  individual  or  collective  prayer,  such  as 
times  of  prayer  or  meeting  together  and  sub- 
jects. 

5.  Watch  for  answers,  and  any  indications  of 
answers,  to  the  prayers  offered ;  but  do  not  be 
discouraged  if  definite  answers  be  delayed.  In- 
tercessory prayer  often  requires  the  exercise  of 
much  faith  and  patience. 

Why  should  it  not  be  possible  for  the  pastor 
of  the  Church  to  call  upon  his  members  to  unite 
with  him  in  a  prayer  circle,  and  perhaps  have 
numerous  circles  in  his  congregation,  which 
should  meet  from  time  to  time  with  some  de- 
gree of  regularity?  In  many  parts  of  our 
country  this  is  already  done  and  some  of  our 
most  successful  pastors  are  following  this  line  of 
work. 

Second :  The  evangelistic  Church  is  a  spirit- 
ual Church  and  that  Church  may  be  counted 
spiritual  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  his  right- 
ful place.  If  we  should  make  it  a  rule  in  our 
Churches  to  devise  no  plans,  adopt  no  methods 
without  these  things  were  all  submitted  to  God 
and  we  were  conscious  of  his  approval  a  new 
day   would    dawn    upon    us.      That    Church   is 


THE    EVANGELISTIC    CHURCH   107 

spiritual  in  which  the  minister  as  well  as  a  goodly 
number  of  the  Church  people  are  wholly  sur- 
rendered to  Christ.  When  he  has  the  right  of 
way  in  our  lives  blessing  will  surely  follow  and 
the  unsaved  in  large  numbers  will  be  won  to  him. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   CHURCH   SERVICE 

There  is  much  criticism  to-day  concerning 
the  Church  which  is  positively  unjust.  It  is 
quite  useless  to  say  that  there  are  no  flaws  in  the 
present  organization  as  men  can  see  it,  but  it  is 
also  equally  true  that  in  the  best  ordered  homes, 
in  those  households  where  there  is  the  greatest 
amount  of  peace  and  comfort  there  are  elements 
of  weakness.  One  could  break  up  his  home  in 
less  than  three  months  if  he  should  parade  the 
flaws  of  his  home  life  before  all  who  would  listen 
to  him.  It  is  both  unjust  to  the  Church  and 
disloyal  to  Christ  for  one  to  keep  constantly 
harping  upon  the  weakness  of  our  church  life 
when  there  is  so  much  on  the  other  side  to 
arouse  enthusiasm  and  to  provoke  the  most  gen- 
erous affection,  and  yet  without  having  the  least 
spirit  of  harsh  criticism  it  is  alas  also  true  that 
concerning  the  services  of  our  Church  the  fol- 
lowing may  be  justly  stated  : 

First :  The  service  is  too  formal.  Formality 
io8 


THE   CHURCH   SERVICE 


109 


is  generally  observed  at  the  expense  of  spiritual 
power  and  life.  In  very  many  of  our  churches 
from  one  year's  end  to  the  other  there  is  no 
variation  of  the  service.  An  invocation,  fre- 
quently singing  by  a  choir  which  cannot  be  un- 
derstood, three  hymns  by  the  congregation  sung 
in  a  half-hearted  manner  in  many  of  our  churches, 
two  prayers  by  the  minister,  one  short  and  the 
other  long,  a  sermon  of  varying  length,  a  bene- 
diction, and  the  service  is  over.  It  is  inconceiv- 
able that  the  man  of  the  world  who  cares  noth- 
ing for  the  sentiment  of  the  service  and  who 
feels  no  special  obligation  to  attend  church  should 
be  interested  by  that  which  he  knows  will  be 
the  same  whether  he  attends  the  service  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast,  on  the  Pacific,  in  the  northern 
portion  of  our  country  or  in  the  extreme  south. 
It  would  be  far  from  me  to  wish  too  great  an  in- 
formality in  the  worship  of  God  and  the  conduct 
of  the  services  of  his  sanctuary,  but  I  am  quite 
sure  that  the  time  is  upon  us  when  if  we  would 
attract  attention  to  him  who  is  able  to  save  to 
the  uttermost  we  must  do  the  unusual  thing. 

One  of  our  great  Scotch  preachers  has  said 
that  the  disposition  which  some  of  us  have  to 
pray  regularly  three  times  a  day  is  well  enough 


no   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

in  itself  but  may  not  accomplish  its  purpose,  for 
the  devil  knows  concerning  our  purpose,  and  he 
says  that  man  will  pray  at  morning,  at  noon  and 
at  night,  and  whenever  he  prays  I  will  be  there 
to  attract  his  attention  to  other  things  and  his 
prayer  will  be  lifeless  and  indifferent.  Could  he 
not  say  the  same  thing  concerning  some  of  the 
services  of  our  churches  ?  If  he  knows  anything 
at  all  he  must  know  just  what  we  are  going  to 
do,  for  we  know  this  ourselves. 

John  Robertson,  the  Scotch  preacher,  some  lit- 
tle time  ago  preached  a  sermon  on  that  text 
found  in  i  Pet.  2:7,"  Unto  you  therefore  which 
believe  he  is  precious,"  and  he  said  if  the  verse 
should  be  rightly  read  it  would  be  like  this, 
"  Unto  you  therefore  which  believe,"  then  there 
is  a  break  in  the  manuscript  or  a  pause  and  the 
word,  "  Precious,''  might  be  translated,  "  Pre- 
ciousness,"  or  to  change  it  again  it  might  be 
translated,  "  Hallelujah,''  and  his  interpretation 
was  that  Peter  is  writing  along  in  his  message 
and  finds  himself  saying,  "  Unto  you  therefore 
which  believe,"  and  suddenly  there  came  to  him 
a  vision  of  the  one  who  had  chosen  him  to  be 
his  follower  and  sent  him  forth  to  preach,  had 
forgiven  him  his  wanderings,  and  sent  a  special 


THE   CHURCH   SERVICE         iii 

messenger  after  his  resurrection  and  he  is  so  full 
of  emotion  that  suddenly  he  breaks  forth  with 
an  exclamation  of,  "  preciousness  or  hallelujah." 
Such  a  break  as  this  in  the  service  of  an  ordi- 
nary church  would  be  counted  a  most  extraor- 
dinary thing,  but  I  can  conceive  that  there 
might  come  into  a  church  a  great  infusion  of 
new  Hfe  if  there  should  be  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  those  who  preach  and  teach  to  yield 
themselves  more  perfectly  to  him  who  witnesses 
to  Christ  and  allow  him  to  have  his  way  with  us 
and  through  us  instead  of  our  own  will  concern- 
ing that  which  might  be  proper  in  our  judg- 
ment. 

Again  may  it  not  be  said  that  the  Church  is 
too  cold.  There  are  certain  things  which  may 
cause  this  condition.  Following  Christ  afar  off 
would  make  it  possible ;  coming  in  touch  with 
the  world  would  produce  it  as  an  inevitable  re- 
sult; even  indifference  would  not  be  without 
influence  in  the  production  of  such  a  state  of 
affairs.  I  can  think  of  no  one  thing  that  would 
so  bring  new  life  to  the  Church,  warmth  to  the 
preacher  and  a  glow  of  enthusiasm  to  every 
department  of  service  as  the  cultivation  of  the 
spirit  of  evangelism,  or  in  other  words  a  devo- 


112   PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

tion  of  the  membership  of  the  Church  to  the 
winning  of  souls  to  Christ. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  used  to  tell  of  a  census  taker 
who  went  about  the  city  of  London,  particularly 
in  his  part  of  the  great  city  to  secure  such  in- 
formation as  might  be  valuable  to  his  workers. 
He  found  an  old  couple  living  in  an  attractive 
looking  house,  everything  outside  was  neat  and 
inside  it  was  almost  perfect.  The  old  people 
were  sitting  on  either  side  of  a  fireplace,  so  far 
as  the  visitor  could  see  in  perfect  comfort,  and 
when  the  questions  had  been  answered  he  said 
to  them,  "  I  should  think  you  would  be  very 
happy.  You  are  away  from  the  turmoil  of  life, 
you  have  fought  your  battles  and  won  your 
victories,  and  you  are  here  now  in  the  evening 
time  of  your  existence  together,  with  naught  to 
disturb  you  or  make  you  afraid,"  and  the  old 
lady  made  response  saying,  "  Well  we  are  not 
happy ;  we  used  to  be,  when  we  heard  the  sounds 
of  children's  voices  about  the  house,  but  now  we 
are  here  alone,  and  we  have  neither  chick  nor 
child  about  us.  We  sit  here  all  the  day  long,  my 
husband  and  I ;  he  looks  at  me  and  I  look  at  him 
until  we  almost  grow  sick  of  the  sight  of  each 
other.     Oh,"  she   said,  "  if  we  could  only  hear 


THE    CHURCH   SERVICE         113 

the  children  again  we  would  have  joy."  This  is 
a  picture  of  many  a  church  with  the  minister 
preaching  to  the  people  and  the  people  simply 
looking  at  him  until  sometimes  he  feels  that  he 
would  welcome  anything  if  only  the  Church 
would  be  aroused,  the  formality  driven  away  and 
the  coldness  depart.  I  know  of  nothing  that 
would  cause  this  result  to  be  so  quickly  apparent 
as  to  hear  the  sound  of  the  voices  of  those  who 
are  new-born  babes  in  Christ  Jesus. 

A  soul  winning  church  is  never  a  church 
spiritually  cold.  The  two  positions  are  posi- 
tively irreconcilable. 

May  it  not  also  be  true  that  the  Church  is  too 
indefinite  in  its  work.  Wherever  there  is  a 
successful  church  to-day  without  exception  that 
church  will  be  found  to  be  carrying  on  a  definite 
work  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  minister 
plans  his  work  and  works  his  plan.  If  he 
preaches  a  series  of  sermons  it  is  in  order  that 
some  result  may  be  accomplished  not  only  in 
the  present  but  in  the  future ;  if  he  has  a  social 
gathering  it  is  in  order  that  through  this  gather- 
ing he  may  accomplish  some  other  purpose  ;  if 
he  makes  pastoral  calls  it  is  because  he  earnestly 
hopes  to  bring  his  influence  to  bear  upon  his 


114   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

people  to  lead  them  to  take  some  new  position 
for  aggressive  work  for  Christ.  If  business  men 
must  plan  their  business,  and  they  must,  then 
why  should  not  the  leaders  of  the  Church  plan 
their  work  which  is  more  important  than  any 
business  in  the  world  to-day,  for  the  king's 
business  not  only  requires  haste  but  requires  in- 
genuity and  careful  planning.  Why  would  it 
not  be  possible  at  the  beginning  of  the  Church 
year  for  the  minister  and  his  officers  to  definitely 
decide  that  every  aim  and  every  effort  through- 
out the  year  should  be  to  accomplish  certain 
definite  spiritual  results,  and  for  this  they  would 
plan  and  pray  and  work. 

Nothing  is  so  inspiring  as  the  music  of  the 
church  service  and  nothing  can  be  more  dis- 
tressing. It  is  quite  as  inconsistent  to  have  an 
unconverted  choir  as  to  have  an  unconverted 
minister,  for  both  lead  in  the  worship  of  God.  It 
is  just  as  reasonable  for  a  minister  to  preach  in 
an  unknown  tone  as  for  a  choir  to  sing  after  this 
fashion,  and  it  is  almost  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule  to  understand  many  of  the  choirs 
of  our  important  churches.  Sometimes  the 
music  fails  because  the  words  and  the  music 
clash ;  sometimes  it  fails  because  the  subject  of 


THE    CHURCH   SERVICE 


115 


the  hymn  is  utterly  foreign  to  the  main  part  of 
the  service,  and  frequently  it  fails  because  we 
attach  too  little  importance  to  it  as  an  element 
in  reaching  and  influencing  the  lives  of  the 
people.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  theology  of 
very  many  people  is  obtained  from  the  hymns 
they  sing.  Little  children  singing  "  Alas  and 
did  my  Saviour  bleed,"  catch  an  idea  of  the 
atonement ;  when  they  sing,  "  Jesus  paid  it  all," 
they  begin  to  have  some  conception  of  justifica- 
tion and  under  the  influence  of,  "  Nearer  my 
God  to  thee,"  they  learn  great  lessons  of  fellow- 
ship with  Christ.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  most 
attractive  features  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  service  was 
the  singing  of  his  great  congregation,  when  no 
choir  took  the  place  of  the  singing  of  the  people 
and  when  even  an  organ  was  dispensed  with  in 
order  that  the  people  might  stand  together  and 
praise  God  as  they  did  in  a  most  wonderful  way, 
and  yet  what  could  be  better  than  the  choir  of 
singers,  consecrated  to  Christ,  enthusiastic  in 
their  singing  because  they  realized  that  next  to 
the  minister  they  have  to  do  with  the  reaching 
of  the  people  and  in  many  cases  beyond  the 
minister  they  have  a  power  over  the  unsaved. 
"  It    is    impossible   to   hold   the    unconverted 


ii6    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

masses  without  interesting  them.  In  gaining 
this  purpose,  the  power  of  song  has,  in  France, 
proved  most  efifective.  The  Moody  and  Sankey 
songs  are  translated  and  sung  quite  as  much  in 
Paris  as  in  New  York.  The  wanderers  on  the 
streets  at  night  can  be  thus  attracted.  These 
songs  are  open  to  criticism  on  grounds  of  rever- 
ence and  truthfulness  as  well  as  of  aesthetics. 
But  for  their  purpose  of  drawing  and  holding 
the  masses,  they  are  unequalled.  Scores  of 
people  will  come  off  the  street  to  sing, 

«  <  The  half  was  never  told,' 

who  would  turn  away  from  the  most  eloquent 
sermon."  ^ 

What  power  there  could  be  for  good  if  fre- 
quently in  the  Sunday  evening  services  at  least 
sweet  Gospel  hymns  should  be  announced,  the 
whole  congregation  asked  to  sing,  occasionally 
a  solo  sung  by  one  who  had  prayed  over  the 
singing  as  the  pastor  ought  to  pray  over  his 
preaching.  If  the  preaching  of  the  Church  to- 
day needs  to  be  turned  into  evangelistic  chan- 
nels there  is  far  greater  necessity  for  insisting 
that  the  singing  should  be  more  evangelistic. 

1  «  The  Working  Church." 


THE    CHURCH    SERVICE  117 

Mr.  Moody  was  a  shrewd  leader  of  men,  and 
there  were  few  men  who  ever  went  beyond  him 
in  exalting  the  power  of  the  singmg  of  a  hymn 
in  which  there  was  to  be  found  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel.  The  preaching  is  of  course  the  im- 
portant part  of  the  entire  service,  for  by  the 
foolishness  of  preaching  God  has  ordained  that 
men  should  come  to  know  Christ  and  to  under- 
stand his  beauty,  but  there  are  certain  points 
which  must  be  emphasized  in  connection  with 
the  preaching  which  is  to  be  evangelistic  in  its 
purpose. 

First:  The  truth  preached  must  be  experi- 
enced. No  man  can  talk  with  any  success  about 
prayer  and  be  prayerless,  about  consecration  and 
withhold  his  gift  from  the  altar,  about  love  for 
souls  and  himself  be  indifferent  to  lost  men. 

"  No  one  preaches  the  truth  with  power  until 
he  has  had  a  deep  personal  experience  of  its 
power.  The  truths  which  were  so  mighty  on 
the  lips  of  Luther  and  Wesley  and  Finney  and 
Moody  had  first  been  mighty  in  their  own 
hearts.  Suppose  we  ministers  begin  with  our- 
selves, and  make  sure  that  we  are  ready  for  dis- 
interested service ;  make  it  quite  sure  that  we 
ourselves  have  been  to  Golgotha,  and  have  there 


ii8    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

been  crucified,  so  that  we  are  dead,  and  the  life 
in  us  is  the  life  of  Christ;  make  it  quite  sure 
that  our  own  hearts  are  aglow  with  the  love  that 
overflows  to  God  and  man.  Then  we  may  ex- 
pect that  these  neglected  truths  of  Jesus  will  be 
preached  to  the  Churches  with  mighty  power 
until  church  membership  really  stands  for  Chris- 
tian service,  Christian  sacrifice  and  Christian 
love.  And  then  this  Gospel  of  God  will  indeed 
be  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  the  multi- 
tudes to  whom  he  is  now  unreal. 

"  When  God  becomes  real  to  men,  the  guilt  of 
sin  becomes  real ;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  God  is 
actualized  when  he  is  interpreted  in  the  terms  of 
present-day  truth  and  in  the  every-day  life  of 
living  epistles."  ^ 

Second :  Christ  must  be  preached  in  all  his 
fullness.  It  will  not  do  to  ignore  any  part  of  the 
scheme  of  redemption.  One  might  just  as  truly 
err  in  being  overzealous  in  what  is  properly 
called  evangelistic  services  as  being  indifferent 
on  the  other  side  to  the  necessity  of  preaching 
what  we  call  the  old  old  story  of  Jesus  and  his 
love.  Truth  is  always  powerful  if  it  is  preached 
in  all  of  its  fullness. 

>  "The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


THE   CHURCH   SERVICE  119 

"  The  rapid  growth  of  *  Christian  Science,'  so- 
called,  is  a  reaction  from  a  Christianity  which 
ignores  the  physical,  and  therefore,  does  not 
recognize  the  interrelation  of  soul  and  body; 
precisely  as  Unitarianism  was  a  reaction  from  an 
orthodoxy  which  practically  ignored  the  hu- 
manity of  our  Lord ;  and  reactions  are  naturally 
one-sided  and  extreme.  The  remedy  for  them 
is  to  preach  the  well-rounded  truth.  We  are 
slowly  learning  by  costly  experience  that  no  great 
Scriptural  truth  can  be  safely  neglected ;  sooner 
or  later  it  appears  in  caricature."  ^ 

Yet  there  is  this  to  be  said  and  it  must  be  said 
with  emphasis  that  for  one  who  is  in  sin  and 
therefore  absolutely  lost  there  is  no  story  which 
can  keep  and  lift  and  save  but  the  story  of  the 
crucified  one. 

Dr.  Jowett,  of  Birmingham,  England,  tells  the 
story  of  the  late  Dr.  Berry  which  illustrates  my 
point.  He  returned  from  his  service  one  day  to 
find  a  child  waiting  at  his  door  who  asked  him 
if  he  would  not  come  at  once  and  help  to  get 
her  mother  in.  He  did  not  understand  her  re- 
quest thinking  possibly  she  was  in  the  cold 
and  had  been  turned  out  of  her  home,  but  at  last 

•  "  The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


I20   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

in  response  to  her  earnest  entreaties  he  went  and 
found  the  mother  dying.  He  did  what  he  could 
to  help  her  but  seemed  utterly  powerless.  He 
told  the  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son  but  she 
seemed  uninterested.  He  brought  to  her  atten- 
tion the  story  of  the  reclaiming  of  fallen  women 
and  Christ  blessing  the  little  children  that  she 
might  know  that  there  was  no  one  so  weak  and 
no  one  so  sinful  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of 
his  love,  and  she  was  still  unmoved,  and  at  last 
he  said  to  his  friend,  she  drew  out  of  me  bit  by 
bit  the  story  of  Jesus  born  in  Bethlehem,  living  in 
Nazareth,  preaching  in  Galilee,  suffering  in  Jeru- 
salem, dying  on  the  Cross,  rising  from  the  dead 
and  ascending  into  glory,  and  as  I  told  her  the 
story  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  and  her  lips  trem- 
bled and  then  there  came  a  look  of  ineffable 
peace  and  joy  and  she  passed  away,  and  said 
Dr.  Berry  to  his  friend,  "  I  believe  I  got  her  in." 

This  is  the  only  story  for  a  lost  and  ruined 
race,  and  we  cannot  be  evangelistic  if  we  neglect 
it  nor  can  we  expect  God  to  bless  us  in  the  win- 
ning of  souls. 

Third  :  Preaching  to  be  evangelistic  must  be 
done  with  the  confident  expectation  of  results. 
The   unsaved   people   in   our   congregation   are 


THE   CHURCH   SERVICE  121 

quick  to  detect  our  own  anticipation  of  failure ; 
they  are  equally  sensitive  to  our  confident  belief 
that  what  we  say  is  to  have  weight  with  them 
and  may  be  used  of  God  to  save  their  souls. 

Over  in  the  almost  midnight  darkness  of 
Africa  toiled  Robert  and  Mary  Moffatt ;  for  ten 
years  they  labored  on  without  a  single  convert. 
They  were  four  hundred  miles  beyond  the  place 
of  civilization.  They  had  only  about  them  the 
most  degraded  savages  and  they  never  for  a  mo- 
ment faltered  and  never  for  a  single  moment  did 
they  have  any  other  thought  than  this,  that  they 
were  sure  to  be  successful.  A  letter  was  re- 
ceived from  a  friend  asking  if  there  was  anything 
of  use  which  could  be  sent  by  their  minister. 
"  The  significant  answer  of  Mary  Moffatt  was, 
*  Send  us  a  Communion  Service.  We  shall  want 
it  some  day.'  It  came  three  years  later,  the  day 
before  the  first  converts  were  baptized." 

With  such  a  spirit  as  this  in  the  preaching, 
with  supreme  confidence  in  God  and  in  his  word, 
with  absolute  certainty  that  if  Christ  be  preached 
faithfully  God's  word  cannot  return  unto  him 
void,  there  must  be  increased  efficiency  in  our 
church  services  and  great  numbers  of  people 
brought  to  Christ.     Yet  if  the  Church  of  Christ 


122    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

could  only  be  aroused  to  put  into  practice  his 
preaching  and  teaching  in  this  present  day,  and 
other  days,  how  men  would  be  helped,  how  souls 
would  be  won  and  how  the  very  wilderness 
would  blossom  as  a  rose. 

"  Let  us  suppose  a  Church  somewhere,  whose 
members  have  such  an  enthusiasm  for  humanity 
that  when  they  lie  awake  nights  they  are  plan- 
ning not  how  to  make  money,  but  how  to  make 
men.  Their  supreme  desire  is  to  help  the  world 
in  general  and  their  own  community  in  partic- 
ular. They  are  striving  daily  to  remove  every 
moral  and  physical  evil;  trying  to  give  every 
child  who  comes  into  the  world  the  best  possible 
chance;  longing  and  working  and  praying  and 
spending  themselves  and  their  substance  to  save 
men  from  sin  and  ignorance  and  suffering !  Let 
us  suppose  the  whole  Church  is  cooperating  to 
this  end.  What  a  transformation  such  a  Church 
would  work  in  any  community !  How  it  would 
*  reach  the  masses  ' !  How  it  would  grow !  How 
it  would  be  talked  about  and  written  up !  Men 
would  make  pilgrimages  to  study  its  workings 
and  its  success.  Yet  such  a  Church  ought  not 
to  be  in  the  least  degree  peculiar."  ^     And  such 

1 "  The  Next  Great  Awakening." 


THE   CHURCH   SERVICE  123 

a  Church  as  this  is  possible  in  every  community 
in  the  world  if  only  the  word  of  God  is  received 
as  authentic,  if  only  Christ  is  believed  on  and 
his  teachings  practiced.  That  such  a  Church  is 
not  to  be  seen  to-day  in  many  of  our  cities  and 
towns  is  to  our  reproach. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    AFTER-MEETING 

There  is  no  part  of  our  work  in  which  more 
care  should  be  exercised  than  the  after-service. 
If  it  becomes  formal  this  at  once  lessens  its 
effectiveness,  and  if  it  is  too  mechanical  it  imme- 
diately impresses  those  who  may  be  somewhat 
interested  as  insincere.  It  is  most  difficult  to 
suggest  any  rules  by  which  the  after-meet- 
ings should  be  conducted,  but  the  experi- 
ences of  others  may  be  helpful  and  it  is  only 
with  this  thought  in  mind  that  this  chapter  is 
written. 

While  it  is  true  that  sometimes  it  becomes 
necessary  to  appoint  an  after-service  unexpect- 
edly because  the  impression  made  by  the  preach- 
ing is  so  deep,  yet  the  rule  is  that  the  after-serv- 
ice must  be  carefully  planned,  must  be  made  a 
subject  of  constant  prayer,  and  those  things 
must  be  done  to  bring  people  to  decisions  which 
124 


THE   AFTER-MEETING  125 

may  be  suggested  to  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  for 
if  we  are  in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind  he  will 
most  assuredly  lead  us.  Those  who  are  trained 
evangelists  or  those  who  are  especially  gifted  as 
pastors  in  the  winning  of  men  to  Christ  will  un- 
derstand what  is  meant  when  we  suggest  that  it 
is  almost  better  to  have  no  method  to  which  we 
are  wedded  in  order  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
suggest  to  us  some  new  plan  for  each  meeting 
we  hold. 

It  is  said  concerning  the  meetings  of  Major 
Cole  who  has  won  as  many  people  to  Christ  as 
possibly  any  other  man  in  the  work  to-day,  that 
no  two  meetings  are  ever  alike.  Their  variety  is 
not  only  interesting  but  may  be  traced  directly 
to  the  fact  that  the  Major  walks  with  God  and  is 
careful  to  follow  his  least  intuition  as  to  the  par- 
ticular line  of  action.  However,  while  this  is 
true,  yet  let  it  be  said  again  that  the  after-meet- 
ing as  a  rule  must  be  thoroughly  planned  out. 
It  is  comparatively  easy  to  make  an  impression 
on  an  audience  if  one  has  a  message  and  believes 
in  the  effectiveness  of  it ;  to  gather  the  results 
from  the  preaching  is  quite  another  thing.  Per- 
sonally I  do  not  know  anything  better  to  secure 
this  than  the  inquirer's  card.     When  the  cards 


126   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

are   used   the   following    may  be    adopted  with 
profit. 

Divide  the  church  into  as  many  divisions  as 
would  give  one  worker  for  every  thirty  or  forty 
people.  The  following  diagram  represents  a  sec- 
tion of  three  rows,  thirty-nine  seats,  the  W  being 
the  worker  who  is  expected  to  reach  with  cards 
the  twenty  people  enclosed  within  the  lines,  the 
others  being  reached  by  assistants  who  may 
work  from  the  aisles. 


O  O  O  w 
OOO  &? 

ooo< 


The  following  inquirer's  cards  have  been  used 
with  success. 

I  have  an  Honest  Desire  Henceforth  to 
Live  a  Christian  Life. 

I  am  willing  to  follow  any  light  God 
may  give  me. 

I  ask  the  People  of  God  to  Pray  for  me. 

Name  

Residence. 


Aisle. 

OOO 

ooo 
ooo 

o  oo  o  ooo 
ooo wooo 
ooo  o  ooo 

Church  or  Pastor  Preferred 
Usher  *s  Name „ 


THEAFTER-MEETING  127 

DECISION  CARD. 


Turning  from  all  past  sins,  and  trusting 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  salvation,  I  do 
hereby  decide,  God  helping  me^  to  henceforth 
lead  a  Christian  life.  This  I  do,  freely^ 
fully  and  forever. 

Name ™- 


Date 

Please  hand  or  send  this  card  to  the  pastor. 

Provide  the  worker  with  a  few  of  these  cards 
and  it  might  be  well  to  supply  lead  pencils. 
These  may  be  fastened  to  the  cards  with  a  little 
rubber  band ;  when  the  sermon  has  been  preached 
and  you  are  sure  there  may  be  an  impression, 
ask  the  workers  to  rise  and  turn  quickly  to  all 
those  who  may  be  sitting  near  them  offering  to 
them  the  card  which  may  be  in  their  possession. 
Explain  this  card  thoroughly  to  the  people  be- 
fore the  distribution  begins ;  sometimes  it  is  wise 
to  sing  a  hymn  softly  while  the  work  is  being 
done,  and  sometimes  the  pastor  may  continue  to 
urge  upon  his  hearers  the  necessity  of  immediate 
decision  while  the  work  is  going  on.  In  some 
cases  it  is  well  to  distribute  the  cards  to  every 
one  before  an  explanation  is  made  and  then  after 


128    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

each  one  has  a  card  in  his  hand  tell  them  just 
what  you  would  like  to  have  them  do.  The 
Christians  in  the  congregation  might  take  the 
card  which  they  have  received  and  use  it  either 
in  the  service  or  out  of  it  with  those  who  may 
not  be  Christians ;  those  who  are  not  members 
of  the  church  should  be  urged  to  at  least  take 
this  stand. 

When  the  cards  have  all  been  collected  they 
may  be  turned  over  to  the  minister  and  he  will 
have  before  him  a  number  of  names  of  people 
who  may  be  easily  approached  and  in  many 
cases  quite  as  easily  won  to  Christ. 

There  are  two  things  to  remember  about  the 
Inquirer's  Card : 

First :  That  it  may  or  may  not  be  a  record 
of  a  decision,  but  in  any  case  it  is  as  valuable  as 
if  one  should  sit  down  in  his  home  and  write  the 
minister  a  letter  saying,  "  I  have  an  earnest  de- 
sire to  live  a  Christian  life.  I  am  willing  to  fol- 
low any  light  if  God  will  give  it  to  me  and  I  ask 
the  people  of  God  to  pray  to  me."  If  fifty  such 
letters  should  be  written  to  a  pastor  in  a  day  he 
would  think  that  certainly  a  great  awakening  had 
come  to  his  church. 

Second:     The   inquirer's  card  is  valuable  in 


THE   AFTER-MEETING  129 

proportion  as  it  is  carefully  followed  up.  It  is  a 
rare  thing  for  one  who  has  signed  this  card  to 
seek  out  the  minister  for  himself. 

Following  such  a  service  as  this  it  would  be 
very  easy  to  have  an  after-meeting  and  concern- 
ing this  after-meeting  the  following  suggestions 
may  be  made. 

As  a  rule  it  is  not  generally  considered  wise  to 
have  the  after-meeting  in  the  same  place  as  the 
preaching  service,  however,  if  this  should  be 
necessary  it  is  a  good  plan  to  ask  the  people  to 
rise  and  then  state  that  you  expect  to  hold  an 
after-service,  that  those  are  invited  who  have  not 
yet  taken  a  stand  for  Christ,  that  all  Christians 
are  expected  to  stay  who  may  feel  the  need  of  a 
deeper  work  of  grace  in  their  hearts  and  that 
those  especially  are  asked  to  tarry  who  may  be 
interested  in  the  conversion  of  some  friend  or 
loved  one. 

Then  state  if  i^  is  necessary  for  any  one  to 
pass  out  they  may  have  the  privilege  of  doing  so 
during  the  singing  of  this  hymn.  After  the 
audience  has  been  changed,  if  the  auditorium  is 
large,  it  is  well  to  draw  the  people  nearer  to- 
gether and  then  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  the 
offering  of  brief  prayers  and  the  statement  again 


I30   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

of  the  thought  of  the  sermon  which  has  pro- 
duced conviction,  you  are  ready  for  the  after- 
meeting  work.  If  it  is  possible  to  change  the 
place  of  meeting  then  it  is  ordinarily  wise  to  ask 
the  people  to  rise  and  sing  and  then  state  that 
during  the  singing  of  a  hymn  the  persons  above 
indicated,  that  is  those  not  members  of  the 
church,  Christians  desiring  a  deeper  work  of 
grace  and  those  interested  in  the  conversion  of 
their  friends  or  loved  ones  may  pass  into  the 
other  room  during  the  singing  of  the  hymn, 
asking  all  the  others  to  wait  until  the  benediction 
is  pronounced.  The  advantage  in  this  plan — 
rather  than  to  close  the  meeting  and  let  any  one 
come  in  to  the  after-service  who  will,  is  two- 
fold. 

First :  If  one  moves  out  of  a  congregation  for 
an  after-meeting  he  has  taken  a  long  step  towards 
Christ. 

Second :  If  he  waits  until  the  audience  passes 
out  of  the  church,  is  slightly  impressed  or  even 
has  a  deep  sense  of  conviction,  this  may  be  dis- 
pelled and  he  be  swept  along  with  the  crowd,  and 
before  he  realizes  it,  is  out  of  the  church  and  on 
his  way  home.  If  the  change  in  the  place  of 
meeting  is  thus  made,  again  we  are  ready  for  the 


THE   AFTER. MEETING  131 

after-service.  The  following  principles  always 
hold: 

In  the  conduct  d  a  successful  after-meeting,  the 
invitation  to  those  who  may  take  their  stand  for 
Christ  must  be  given  with  a  kind  of  holy  bold- 
ness. The  least  action  of  timidity  or  fear  on  the 
part  of  the  leader  will  defeat  his  plan.  When 
there  is  not  the  very  deepest  impression,  then  ask 
the  people  to  do  the  easiest  thing  first,  that  is, 
call  upon  the  Christians  for  some  decision,  sug- 
gest that  those  who  desire  to  be  remembered  in 
prayer  for  their  own  growth  in  grace  or  in  behalf 
of  their  friends  should  rise  or  Hft  their  hands. 
If  the  impression  is  deep  and  you  know  it  by  in- 
tuition, then  you  may  ask  those  present  to  do  the 
most  difficult  thing,  and  sometimes  the  more  you 
ask  them  to  do  the  more  willingly  do  they  follow 
your  suggestions. 

There  are  four  methods  which  have  usually 
been  adopted  in  after-meetings. 

First :  Those  interested  are  asked  to  lift  their 
hands,  sometimes  while  all  heads  are  bowed  (but 
this  is  not  necessary).  After  the  hands  have 
been  lifted  they  are  dealt  with  personally. 

Second :  They  are  asked  to  stand  and  speak 
out  boldly  their  determination  to  come  to  Christ. 


132   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Third :  They  may  be  asked  to  come  to  the 
front  and  kneel  at  an  altar  or  one  which  may  be 
improvised  by  the  placing  of  chairs  in  the  chapel 
or  church. 

Fourth :  They  may  be  asked  to  come  to  the 
front  and  take  the  minister's  hand  if  they  are 
ready  to  profess  allegiance  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  minister  if  he  has  had  any  experi- 
ence at  all  will  very  soon  know  which  one  of 
these  plans  he  may  follow  or  he  may  feel  that  it 
is  not  wise  to  adopt  any  of  them,  for  there  may 
be  suggested  to  him  something  very  much 
better. 

After  the  first  step  has  been  taken  then  we  are 
ready  for  our  dealing  with  the  inquirer.  This 
work  may  be  both  general  and  particular.  If  the 
leader  of  the  meeting  holds  the  service  in  his  own 
hands,  humanly  speaking,  it  is  well  for  him  to 
state  fully  the  plan  of  salvation.  One  cannot  be 
too  particular  about  this.  Sometimes  we  err  in 
the  fact  that  we  imagine  the  story  is  so  well 
known  that  we  need  not  repeat  it,  but  this  is  fre- 
quently a  fatal  mistake.  It  is  well  to  make  fre- 
quent use  of  good  illustrations  which  aptly  illus- 
trate the  truth  you  are  presenting.  Sometimes 
the  audience  may  be  appealed  to  for  the  sake  of 


THE   AFTER-MEETING  133 

securing  emphasis  upon  some  principle  which 
you  have  stated,  although  this  is  not  infrequently 
dangerous,  for  injudicious  people  may  sometimes 
undo  the  whole  effect  of  the  sermon  and  the 
appeal.  If  the  congregation  should  be  appealed 
to  then  let  it  be  explicitly  stated  that  the  remarks 
are  to  be  brief  and  entirely  to  the  point. 

I  once  heard  the  late  Dr.  Maltbie  Babcock  re- 
late an  illustration  in  which  he  was  telling  how 
easy  it  was  to  be  a  Christian  if  we  would  but  fol- 
low God's  plan.  He  said  that  Harry  Moore- 
house,  the  distinguished  evangelist,  was  a  guest 
in  his  father's  house  and  that  one  evening  while 
he  was  waiting  to  preach  his  sermon  a  child  of 
the  household  came  to  the  door  and  opened  it ; 
as  the  evangelist  heard  the  door  open  he  turned 
to  look  and  the  door  closed  again  and  no  one  ap- 
peared. Then  he  heard  the  sound  once  more, 
and  without  turning  said,  "  Come  in."  The  child 
came  into  his  presence  and  said,  "  Mr.  Moore- 
house,  I  want  to  be  a  Christian."  "  Well,"  said 
he,  "  you  may  be,  for  it  is  very  easy,"  and  he 
asked  her  to  turn  to  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah  and  read  the  fourth  and  fifth 
verses,  only  he  told  her  to  make  them  personal, 
and  she  read  them  in  this  way.     "  Surely  he  hath 


134   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

borne  my  griefs,  and  carried  my  sorrows,  yet  / 
did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  af- 
flicted. But  he  was  wounded  for  my  transgres- 
sions, he  was  bruised  for  my  iniquities,  the  chas- 
tisement of  my  peace  was  upon  him  and  with  his 
stripes,"  and  as  she  came  to  this  part  she  sud- 
denly stopped,  her  eyes  filled  up  with  tears  and 
the  minister  said,  "  Read  on,"  and  she  read,  "  / 
am  healed."  "  It  is  just  as  easy  as  this,"  said 
Mr.  Moorehouse,  and  the  child  went  away  be- 
lieving. If  the  dealing  is  particular  and  individ- 
uals deal  with  individuals,  then  make  a  free  use 
of  the  Word  of  God,  although  of  course  this  is  not 
to  be  neglected  in  the  general  work.  Such  verses 
as  John  5  :  24,  should  be  frequently  used. 
"  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth 
my  word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me, 
hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  con- 
demnation, but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life." 
And  note  especially  in  this  verse  Jesus  states  that 
if  we  believe  on  him  we  shall  not  come  into  judg- 
ment and  we  have  the  immediate  possession  of 
eternal  life. 

The  sixth  chapter  of  John  and  the  forty-seventh 
verse  is  also  most  useful,  "  Verily,  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlast- 


THE   AFTER-MEETING  135 

ing  life."  But  perhaps  there  is  nothing  better 
than  John  3:  16,  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  on  him  shall  not  perish  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

A  distinguished  minister  told  me  that  he  lived 
when  a  child  in  a  home,  every  member  of  the 
household  being  as  he  expressed  it,  a  perfect  bat- 
tery of  emotion.  They  insisted  that  he  could 
only  be  saved  in  their  way  and  he  tried  again 
and  again  without  success  to  find  Christ.  At 
last  he  gave  up  in  despair.  One  afternoon  when 
a  student  he  was  sitting  under  a  tree  on  the 
campus  and  he  began  to  read  this  verse,  in  John 
the  third  chapter  and  the  sixteenth  verse,  which 
Luther  has  called  the  gospel  in  a  nut  shell,  and 
he  said,  "  Why  this  seems  plain ;  '  for  God  so 
loved  the  world,'  then  he  must  have  loved  me 
for  I  am  part  of  it ;  '  that  whosoever  beHeveth,' 
that  is  a  plain  statement,  and  certainly  does  not 
pass  me  by  for  I  am  one  of  that  company.  If 
therefore  this  is  his  word  and  I  accept  it,  then 
according  to  his  word  I  am  saved,"  and  suddenly 
he  said,  "  I  rose  to  my  feet,  clasped  my  Bible  and 
said  as  I  looked  up,  *  Lord  God  I  expect  to  stand 
upon  this  promise,  I  will  hold  on  to  it  through 


136    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

time  and  I  will  take  it  with  me  into  thy  very  pres- 
ence at  the  judgment  and  then  I  must  be  saved 
or  it  will  go  hard  with  the  Book,'  and  almost  im- 
mediately," he  said,  "  there  came  a  perfect  rush 
of  joy  and  I  have  had  the  consciousness  ever 
since  that  I  was  accepted  of  him." 

No  after-meeting  should  close  without  all  being 
urged  to  take  a  definite  stand  for  Christ  not  only 
in  the  meeting  but  to  take  immediate  steps 
towards  being  identified  with  some  church,  for  it 
is  literally  true  that  it  is  impossible  to  find  a  joy- 
ous, successful,  fruitful  Christian  in  one  who  will> 
ingly  neglects  church  membership. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PERSONAL  EVANGELISM,  WINNING   SOULS 

Since  it  is  true  that  the  majority  of  people  in 
the  Church  have  never  won  a  soul  to  Christ,  the 
subject  of  personal  evangelism  is  timely. 

I  have  heard  of  a  pastor  who  once  asked  the 
officers  of  his  church  to  be  perfectly  frank  with 
him  and  tell  him  how  many  of  them  had  ever 
led  a  soul  to  Christ.  There  were  fifteen  pres- 
ent, five  of  whom  stood  to  say  that  they  had  had 
this  joy  and  ten  remained  seated.  One  gentleman 
rose  immediately  to  say  that  the  question  had 
condemned  him,  that  he  had  four  boys,  one  of 
whom  was  a  church  member,  and  to  his  shame 
he  confessed  that  three  of  them  he  had  never 
spoken  to  on  the  subject  of  their  soul's  salvation. 
He  went  immediately  to  his  home  that  night  to 
fulfill  his  obligation  and  the  three  boys  came 
into  the  church  at  the  first  opportunity.  He 
said  that  there  had  been  a  man  coming  into  his 
place  of  business  for  years.  He  knew  him  to  be 
a  sinful  man  but  he  had  never  spoken  to  him 
«37 


138   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

about  his  spiritual  condition.  When  in  a  few 
days  this  man  entered  his  business  house 
again  and  when  his  errand  was  completed  on 
which  he  had  come,  the  church  officer  said  to 
him,  "  Did  you  know  that  I  was  a  Christian  ?  " 
and  he  said,  "  Yes."  "  I  wonder,"  he  said,  "  if 
you  knew  that  I  was  an  officer  in  the  church," 
and  he  said,  "  Yes,  I  knew  it,"  and  then  he  said, 
"  I  wonder  if  you  have  ever  thought  it  strange 
that  I  had  not  spoken  to  you  about  your  soul." 
The  man's  face  became  very  white  as  he  said,  "  I 
have  thought  it  strange  and  I  have  come  again 
and  again  into  your  place  of  business  and  waited 
after  I  had  finished  my  errand,  hoping  that  you 
would  speak  to  me  and  you  never  have,  and  now 
it  is  too  late." 

There  are  two  things  that  must  be  kept  con- 
stantly in  mind  if  we  are  to  be  successful  in  this 
kind  of  evangelism. 

First:  We  must  believe  that  men  without 
Christ  are  lost.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it  at 
all.  The  word  of  God  has  distinctly  stated  it  and 
on  the  authority  of  that  word  we  have  a  right  to 
proclaim  that  there  is  only  one  way  of  salvation 
and  that  is  by  the  way  that  is  marked  by  the 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God. 


PERSONAL   EVANGELISM        139 

Second  :  We  must  be  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  we  are  largely  responsible  for  the  winning 
of  these  who  are  lost.  I  am  my  brother's  keeper 
whether  I  appreciate  it  or  not. 

A  father  in  Chicago  one  day  came  to  his  home 
from  his  place  of  business  to  find  his  only  son 
dying.  He  thought  it  best  to  tell  him  that  he 
was  near  the  end  and  so  he  said,  "  The  doctor 
says  that  to-morrow  morning  you  will  be  with 
Jesus  Christ,"  and  then  with  an  almost  breaking 
heart  he  began  to  sob.  The  boy  still  holding 
his  hand  drew  him  towards  him  as  he  said, 
"  Father,  don't  you  cry  about  it  for  just  as  soon 
as  I  see  Jesus  Christ  I  will  tell  him  that  ever 
since  I  can  remember  you  at  all  you  have  tried 
to  lead  me  to  him,"  and  unless  our  children  can 
say  that  about  us  and  unless  our  friends  can  have 
the  same  impression  concerning  us,  we  have 
been  disloyal  to  Christ  and  unfaithful  to  them. 
There  is  a  tremendous  responsibility  resting 
upon  every  Christian  to  attempt  at  least  to  win 
the  individuals  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact, 
for  Christ. 

Possibly  no  better  suggestion  could  be  made 
as  to  the  way  in  which  we  should  work  together 
than  simply  to  be  natural.     A  perfunctory  man- 


I40    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

ner  will  not  impress  except  unfavorably  and  an 
unnatural  way  of  speaking  will  not  win,  far  from 
it.  If  we  could  only  learn  to  talk  about  Christ 
as  we  talk  about  our  earthly  friends,  what  satis- 
faction there  would  be  in  speaking  to  those  who 
are  lost  about  him. 

If  we  would  be  soul  winners  as  a  rule  it  is  wise 
for  us  first  to  seek  out  those  in  whom  we  are  in- 
terested when  they  are  disengaged.  Ordinarily 
it  will  profit  little  to  approach  a  man  in  the 
midst  of  his  business  or  attempt  to  talk  to  a 
woman  when  she  is  taken  up  with  household 
cares,  but  that  person  must  have  a  heart  of  stone 
who  could  listen  to  an  earnest  appeal  made  out 
of  a  full  heart  sometimes  with  tears  which  can- 
not be  kept  back,  and  still  be  unmoved. 

First :  It  is  wise  for  us  to  speak,  however, 
whenever  providence  seems  to  indicate  that  we 
should  do  so.  I  once  went  to  call  upon  a  young 
man  at  the  suggestion  of  one  of  his  friends.  He 
was  dying  with  consumption.  I  was  obliged  to 
give  my  word  that  I  would  not  speak  to  him 
about  his  soul  for  fear  that  it  might  frighten 
him.  I  was  simply  to  go  and  talk  in  a  general 
way,  winning  his  confidence,  and  to  lead  him  to 
Christ  at  a  subsequent  time.     I  can  still  remem- 


PERSONAL   EVANGELISM        141 

ber  his  white  face  on  the  pillow,  and  I  can  still 
feel  the  touch  of  his  cold  hand  as  I  said  good-bye 
and  went  away.  The  next  morning  I  came  to 
see  him,  only  to  have  the  information  that  he 
was  dead,  that  he  had  died  shortly  after  I  was  in 
his  room,  unwarned  and  lost  so  far  as  his  friends 
knew,  and  yet  I  had  looked  into  his  eyes  and 
held  his  hand  in  mine  and  had  not  won  him. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  we  go  aside  from 
being  natural,  let  it  be  remembered  that  first  of 
all  we  must  be  kindly.  As  a  rule  we  need  not 
go  with  an  argument,  for  not  many  people  are 
won  that  way.  Men  do  not  think  their  way  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  they  may  think  their  way 
to  the  boundary  line  of  the  Kingdom,  but  the 
step  into  life  is  a  step  taken  by  faith. 

Second  :  We  must  be  very  solemn  about  it, 
for  while  it  is  a  joyous  thing  to  be  a  Christian, 
yet  at  the  same  time  it  is  an  exceedingly  solemn 
errand  upon  which  we  have  come  to  tell  them 
that  they  are  hopeless  without  Christ. 

One  of  the  officers  of  my  Church  once  drove 
four  miles  through  a  blinding  snow-storm,  on 
such  a  mission.  He  was  an  old  man  and  could 
not  well  leave  his  comfortable  home,  but  when 
he  stood  in  the  blacksmith  shop  of  a  young  man, 


142   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

who  was  amazed  to  see  him  there  on  a  stormy- 
day,  he  said  to  him,  "  I  promised  your  old  father 
that  I  would  look  after  you  spiritually  and  I  have 
never  spoken  to  you.  Oh,  my  friend  !  "  he  said, 
"  I  am  concerned  for  your  soul."  He  turned  away 
and  went  to  his  home,  thinking  he  had  made  a 
dismal  failure  of  it,  was  ill  for  days  and  did  not 
come  again  to  the  meetings,  but  that  very  night 
the  young  man  came  to  the  Church  to  say  that 
he  never  had  been  moved  either  by  a  sermon  or 
a  song  in  his  life,  but  the  solemn  word  of  that 
old  faithful  Christian  had  stirred  him  through 
and  through,  and  he  rose  that  night  to  make  his 
confession  of  his  Saviour. 

Third  :  If  it  is  possible,  pray  with  them  and 
for  them.  I  have  for  years  known  intimately  a 
gentleman  who  was  one  of  seven  sons,  six  of 
them  were  Christians  but  one  of  them  was  far 
away  from  Christ.  He  had  almost  broken  his 
mother's  heart,  who  was  wearying  for  him  as  the 
Scotch  people  say.     One  of  her  old  neighbors 

came  in  and  said,  "  Mrs.  M ,  why  don't 

you  give  John  up ;  you  have  six  boys  for  Christ, 
rejoice  in  them  and  let  him  go."  "  My  old 
mother,"  said  my  friend,  "  rose  to  her  feet,  and 
taking  hold  of  the  chair  for  support,  said, '  I  will 


PERSONAL   EVANGELISM        143 

never  give  him  up.  I  gave  him  to  God  before 
he  was  born,  I  carried  him  to  the  Church  as  soon 
as  I  could  walk  and  placed  him  upon  the  altar ; 
he  is  God's  child  and  he  will  have  him  if  he  turns 
the  world  over  to  get  him,'  and  she  lived  long 
enough,"  said  my  friend,  "  to  see  her  boy  a 
Christian,  a  judge  of  one  of  the  highest  courts  in 
America  and  an  officer  in  the  Church." 

But  when  all  these  suggestions  have  been 
made  and  the  rules  of  men  have  been  studied, 
this  one  thing  must  constantly  be  remembered, 
there  must  be  the  deepest  sort  of  concern. 
Without  this  preaching  becomes  profes^^ional 
and  our  effort  mechanical,  our  evangelism  is  not 
the  sort  that  takes  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  lost 
people,  and  one  of  the  most  encouraging  signs 
of  the  times  is  that  there  seems  to  be  a  deepen- 
ing concern  on  the  part  of  men  and  women  in 
the  Church  that  the  lost  should  know  Christ. 

In  an  Eastern  town  a  series  of  meetings  was 
in  progress.  The  ministers  were  preaching  night 
after  night  and  one  night  the  Baptist  minister 
was  asked  to  preach  and  invite  the  lost  to 
take  a  stand  for  Christ.  He  stood  pleading 
with  those  to  come  to  the  front  who  desired  to 
know  him  as  a  Saviour,  and  at  last  one  of  his 


144   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

brother  ministers  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  it  is  use- 
less to  wait  longer,  they  have  all  come  for  to- 
night," and  yet  he  waited.  "  Will  not  another 
one  come  ?  "  he  said,  and  finally  in  the  audience  a 
young  man  started  to  the  front.  The  minister 
met  him  half-way  down  the  aisle,  threw  his  arms 
around  him  as  he  said,  "  Oh,  my  son,  my  son, 
you  have  come,  you  have  come,"  and  then  he 
went  back  to  the  platform  to  say, "  I  think  I 
should  have  died  if  he  had  not  taken  a  stand  for 
Christ  to-night,"  and  one  who  sat  with  him  on 
the  platform  said  that  he  believed  that  he  was 
almost  nearer  dead  than  alive  as  he  stood  wait- 
ing and  pleading. 

Such  concern  always  has  weight  with  the 
unsaved  for  it  may  be  set  down  as  a  rule  that 
the  lost  people  of  our  homes  and  communities 
are  never  more  concerned  for  themselves  than 
we  are  concerned  for  them. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PERSONAL  WORKERS   BANDS 

If  the  key-note  of  present-day  evangelism 
is  the  personal  effort  of  the  members  of  the 
Church,  then  naturally  there  would  be  many 
inquiries  made  concerning  the  best  way  of  en- 
listing the  sympathies  and  cooperation  of  the 
people  of  the  Church.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable illustrations  of  what  may  be  accom- 
plished by  personal  effort  has  been  given  us 
in  the  experience  of  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Concerning  this 
work  the  assistant  pastor  says,  "  On  the  first 
Sabbath  in  October,  1900,  Dr.  Henry  H.  Steb- 
bins,  pastor  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church, 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  suggested  to  his  people  as  a 
fitting  and  triumphant  close  to  the  nineteenth 
century  that  at  least  one  hundred  people  be 
brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  one  for  each 
year  of  the  century.  One  of  the  elders  of  the 
Church,  hearing  the  suggestion,  said  to  himself, 
"  Why  cannot  a  committee  of  one  hundred  be 
secured  to  carry  this  into  effect?"  His  con- 
H5 


146   PRESENT-DAV   EVANGELISM 

fidence  in  the  plan  was  so  strong  that  at  a 
meeting,  a  few  days  later,  of  St.  Paul's  brother- 
hood, a  band  of  twenty-one  young  men  in 
Central  Church  organized  for  Christian  work,  he 
produced  one  hundred  cards  printed  and  num- 
bered, and  received  their  unanimous  and  en- 
thusiastic endorsement.  The  cards  were  equally 
distributed  throughout  the  brotherhood,  with 
the  understanding  that  each  member  should 
sign  a  card  for  himself  and  that  he  should 
commit  the  other  cards  to  persons  who  might 
be  depended  upon  for  the  work. 

Face  of  the  Card. 
ig4.  Central  Churchy  jgoo. 

Committee  of  One  Hundred. 
By  affixing  my  signature  to  this  card,  I  desire  mem- 
bership in  above  committee,  and  agree  to  fulfill  to  the 
best  of  my  ability  the  object  of  the  committee.     (See 
other  side.) 

Name, 

Address, 

Note. — Return  this  card  to  any  member  of  St. 
Paul's  Brotherhood  of  this  Church. 

Back  of  the  Card. 
'I 

The  object  of  this  committee  is,  if  possible,  to  bring 

into  the  membership  of  this  church  at  least  one  hun- 
dred at  the  next  communion,  which  occurs  the  first 
Sunday  morning  in  December,  and  will  be  the  last 
reception  to  new  members  in  the  present  century. 
This  is  putting  into  effect  the  suggestion  and  desire  of 


PERSONAL   WORKERS   BANDS    147 

Dr.  Stebbins  as  stated  by  him  Sunday  morning,  Octo- 
ber 7,  which  was  as  follows :  "  As  a  fitting  way  to 
close  the  present  century,  why  not  have  a  new  mem- 
ber to  represent  each  year  in  it  ?  "  Membership  in 
this  committee  means  that  you  will  be  responsible  for 
at  least  one. 

The  above  card  embodied  the  plan,  which  was 
after  Dr.  Stebbins'  own  heart.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  brotherhood,  above  referred  to,  he  ex- 
pressed his  great  gratification  at  the  adoption  of 
such  a  method,  and  predicted  for  it  the  largest 
success,  since  it  was  the  realization  of  an  ideal 
which  throughout  his  ministry  he  had  cherished 
as  the  preferred  gospel  method  of  winning  men, 
women  and  children  to  Christ. 

While  these  cards  were  being  circulated  for 
signature,  letters  were  sent  to  teachers  of  the 
Bible  School  and  members  of  the  Christian  En- 
deavor Society,  copies  of  which  are  here  inserted. 

This  result  of  this  personal  campaign  was  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  people  added  to  the 
Church,  and  the  whole  membership  stimulated  as 
it  had  not  been  before  in  the  Church's  history. 

"  One  of  the  elders  of  my  church  came  to  a 
session  meeting  last  winter  and  described  to  us 
what  he  had  heard  of  the  work  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Stebbins,  of  Rochester.     Our  hearts  were  made 


148    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

to  glow  with  the  thought  that  so  many  people 
had  been  led  to  accept  Christ  in  the  Central 
Church.  We  at  once  determined  that  we  would 
follow  out  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  plan. 
We  conferred  together  as  Church  officers  and 
determined  that  we  would  each  make  it  a  special 
subject  of  prayer.  On  the  Sunday  morning  fol- 
lowing our  conference  I  preached  from  the  text, 
*  First  he  findeth  his  own  brother.'  I  tried  my 
very  best  to  lay  upon  the  people  the  burden  of 
responsibility  of  souls,  and  when  the  sermon  was 
ended  I  announced  that  the  session  would  pass 
through  the  audience  with  the  pledge  cards  which 
the  members  were  asked  to  take  if  they  would  be 
willing  to  join  with  the  pastor  in  seeking  to  lead  at 
least  one  soul  to  Christ  during  a  given  time.  Quite 
a  number  of  cards  were  taken  and  enough  were  re- 
turned to  make  it  possible  for  us  to  form  the  Com- 
mittee of  One  Hundred.     The  card  was  as  follows : 

The  Committee  of  One  Hundred. 
Fourth  Presbyterian  Churchy  New  York  City. 
Rev.  y.  Wilbur  Chapman^  Pastor. 
I  hereby  agree  to  become  a  member  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  One  Hundred  and  will  strive  in  every  possible 
way  during  the  next  six  weeks  to  lead  at  least  one 
soul  to  Christ. 

Signed, 

Addressed, 


PERSONAL   WORKERS    BANDS    149 

"  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  card  was  printed 
something  hke  the  following  : 

In  becoming  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  One 
Hundred  it  is  my  purpose  to  follow  out  the  suggestions 
given  us  by  our  pastor  from  the  text :  "  First  he 
findeth  his  own  brother."  I  agree  in  signing  the 
card  that  I  will  meet  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred 
whenever  called  together,  so  far  as  this  may  be  pos- 
sible, and  that  all  my  prayer  and  efforts  shall  be  cen- 
tred upon  one  until  that  one  comes  to  Christ. 

"  Immediately  we  began  to  hold  conferences 
with  those  whose  names  appeared  on  the  cards. 
We  talked  together  over  the  difficulties  that  the 
workers  met  in  the  effort  they  were  putting 
forth ;  we  prayed  for  those  for  whom  prayers 
were  requested  in  our  conferences.  As  the 
meetings  went  on  from  time  to  time  the  workers 
began  to  report  concerning  their  success,  and  in- 
stead of  leading  one  some  were  used  of  God  to 
lead  two  and  three  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 
Altogether  the  work  was  most  successful.  We 
had  the  joy  of  receiving  eighty-two  people  into 
our  church  at  the  communion  following  the 
taking  of  these  pledges  and  at  a  subsequent 
communion  enough  more  to  more  than  prove 
that  the  members  of  the  committee  had  kept 
their  pledge  made  to  their  pastor  and  to  God.     I 


ISO    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

can  commend  the  plan  to  churches  everywhere, 
and  in  some  communities  where  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  hold  a  series  of  meetings  it  is  possible  to 
carry  forward  such  a  work  as  this.  That  God 
may  make  it  successful  is  my  prayer." 


CHAPTER  XV 

EVANGELISM    FOR   THE  YOUNG 

During  the  past  twenty  years  there  has  been 
a  remarkable  uprising  of  the  young  people  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  Those  who  have  studied 
the  movement  carefully  have  not  only  thanked 
God  for  what  has  been  accomplished  but  they 
must  also  have  been  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
he  is  moving  and  working  with  and  through  the 
young  people  as  he  has  always  worked  with  his 
own  in  the  different  movements  of  the  Church. 

With  the  beginning  of  this  special  work  there 
was  aroused  the  greatest  amount  of  enthusiasm. 
The  churches  in  some  instances  were  transformed 
by  the  infusion  of  new  life  into  all  of  the  services. 
The  local,  state  and  international  gatherings 
where  methods  were  discussed  and  great  speakers 
addressed  mighty  throngs  of  hearers  were  un- 
paralleled in  the  history  of  the  Church,  certainly 
during  the  past  century. 

Naturally  enough  this  enthusiasm  after  a  while 
began  to  run  in  other  channels  than  those 
151 


152    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

marked  out  in  the  past  and  in  view  of  this 
there  were  some  who  said  that  the  movement 
was  waning  and  that  the  time  would  soon 
come  when  the  young  people's  societies  would 
either  be  wiped  out  of  existence  or  God  would 
call  to  the  front  some  one  leader  who  should  be 
able  to  call  the  members  to  follow  his  leadership 
in  another  direction.  This  it  seems  to  me  is  far 
from  true.  I  have  studied  the  movements  most 
carefully,  have  been  closely  identified  with  them 
for  the  past  few  years  and  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  while  there  is  a  change  in  the 
emphasis  of  the  work  there  is  no  real  diminu- 
tion of  interest.  As  the  Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark, 
the  founder  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
said  recently,  "  the  Christian  Endeavorers  have 
simply  gotten  their  second  wind  and  are  now 
prepared  for  a  more  effective  and  successful 
race." 

It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  in  the  matter  of 
Bible  study,  missionary  effort,  rescue  mission 
service,  and  in  general  and  consecrated  endeavor 
throughout  our  land,  the  young  people's  so- 
cieties are  in  better  condition  to-day  then  ever 
before,  so  far  as  real  blessing  to  the  Church  is 
concerned. 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG  153 

In  view  of  what  has  been  accomplished  in  the 
past  may  not  these  societies  be  organized  most 
effectively  for  evangelistic  effort  ? 

With  reference  to  this  open  door  now  so  far 
ajar  before  the  young  people  of  our  churches, 
the  following  suggestions  may  be  made : 

First:  Call  the  officers  of  the  society  to- 
gether to  meet  with  the  pastor  and  the  officers 
of  the  church,  at  which  time  there  should  be  laid 
upon  the  young  people  the  special  responsibility 
of  some  organized  effort  in  behalf  of  the  young. 
Second :  Let  the  pastor  make  an  appeal  to 
all  the  members  of  the  society  to  adopt  the 
suggestions  made  to  them  by  their  leaders. 

Third:  Particularly  emphasize  the  necessity 
of  asking  that  special  individuals  be  prayed  for 
by  name  and  that  definite  objects  of  service  be 
placed  before  the  members. 

Fourth  :  Have  frequent  meetings  with  those 
who  pledge  themselves  to  such  service,  listen 
carefully  to  their  reports  and  offer  words  of  sug- 
gestion and  encouragement. 

Fifth  :  Have  a  time  limit  for  the  special  effort 
to  be  made,  say  for  three  or  six  months.  The 
particular  advantage  in  this  is  that  the  young 
people,  while  they  may  be  interested  in  a  move- 


154   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

ment  which  is  to  extend  for  years  through  the 
church,  would  feel  a  burden  of  responsibility  for 
that  work  which  stretches  out  before  them  for 
a  definite  period.  There  is  no  question  at  all 
but  what  if  these  suggestions  should  be  followed, 
modified  as  they  must  be  to  meet  the  condition 
of  the  local  church,  that  a  most  effective  work 
would  be  done. 

The  Sunday-School. 

Good  work  has  been  accomplished  within  the 
past  few  years  in  the  almost  universal  observance 
of  decision  day  in  the  Sunday-schools,  the  idea 
being  that  a  special  day  be  set  apart,  when  the 
scholar  old  enough  to  take  such  a  stand  should 
be  urged  to  accept  Christ  as  a  Saviour. 

It  is  quite  true  that  some  objection  has  been 
made  to  such  a  day,  the  objectors  stating  that 
every  day  should  be  one  of  decision  in  the 
Sunday-school.  While  this  is  true  as  a  theory 
it  is  rarely  worked  out  in  practice,  and  since 
every  day  is  not  one  of  decision  why  not  set 
apart  at  least  one  Sunday  in  the  year  when 
such  an  effort  should  be  made;  two  Sundays 
would  be  better  and  three  would  be  better 
still. 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG  155 

This  plan  for  the  leading  of  the  young  people 
to  Christ  has  been  tried  and  proven  throughout 
the  world  and  has  the  advantage  of  having  the 
almost  universal  approval  of  Sunday-school 
workers  everywhere. 

One  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the  working 
of  the  plan  has  been  found  in  the  experience  of 
the  Rev.  T.  V.  Moore,  D.  D.,  of  Omaha,  Ne- 
braska.    He  writes  as  follows : 

I.  The  Preparation.— This  is  a  most  impor- 
tant part  of  the  work.  I  first  got  my  superin- 
tendent into  my  study  alone,  explained  the  plan 
to  him,  got  his  ready  consent  to  try  it,  and  gave 
him  the  leaflet  to  read.  That  meeting  was  on 
Sunday,  January  26th.  We  fixed  the  day  for 
decision  day  four  weeks  later,  on  Sunday,  Feb- 
ruary 23d.  This  was  in  order  to  get  time  for 
prayer  and  preparation.  We  two  agreed  to- 
gether that  we  would  pray  daily  until  then  for 
God's  blessing  on  the  effort.  The  following 
Sunday,  February  2d,  after  Sunday-school,  we 
got  all  the  teachers  and  officers  together  and 
laid  the  matter  before  them.  They  all  entered 
heartily  into  the  plan,  and  agreed  to  pray  daily 
for  its  success  and  for  the  individual  members  of 
their  classes  and  to  do  personal  work  among  them. 


156   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

For  the  regular  weekly  teachers'  meeting  pre- 
ceding decision  day,  which  is  held  on  Wednes- 
day evening,  just  before  prayer-meeting,  a 
special  effort  was  made  to  get  out  every  teacher 
and  officer.  The  pastor  led  the  meeting.  In- 
stead of  the  lesson  study  that  evening,  the  time 
was  given  to  the  consideration  of  the  special 
work  of  the  coming  Sunday.  The  subject  of 
early  decision  was  considered  from  the  stand- 
point of  personal  experience.  Out  of  twenty- 
four  teachers  and  officers  present,  nineteen  were 
found  to  have  confessed  Christ  and  come  into 
the  church  before  the  age  of  twenty  years ; 
many  of  these  were  before  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
some  as  early  as  their  eleventh  year.  They 
were  asked  to  say  frankly  whether  they  thought 
they  had  made  a  mistake  in  coming  so  early,  to 
the  Lord's  table.  No  one  thought  so  concern- 
ing himself.  Attention  was  then  called  to  the 
number  in  our  school  not  in  the  church  and  to 
the  importance  of  getting  them  early  to  decide 
for  Christ,  and  to  confess  him.  The  procedure 
for  the  following  Sunday  was  discussed  in  detail. 
It  was  agreed  that  there  must  be  no  merely 
emotional  appeal  to  any;  that  in  the  case  of 
younger  children  there  must  be  no  urging  to 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG  157 

public  acts  of  committal ;  but  that  pressure 
should  be  laid  for  all  on  the  one  point  of 
personal  decision  for  Christ ;  the  door  should  be 
opened  for  all  to  come  to  the  Lord's  table  who 
so  desired ;  and  the  older  ones  should  be  urged 
to  some  overt  act  of  confession  and  committal 
of  themselves  to  Christ  then  and  there.  A  card 
to  be  used  by  the  teachers  in  this  work  was  read 
and  its  terms  exactly  explained.  (See  below.) 
The  one  subject  was  to  be  that  of  personal 
acceptance  of  Christ.  All  subsidiary  questions 
and  all  difficulties  as  to  joining  the  church  or 
concerning  some  particular  church  were  to  be 
set  aside  for  future  determination  by  each  pupil. 
This  work  as  far  as  signing  cards  and  making  any 
public  expression  were  concerned,  was  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  intermediate  and  adult  departments. 
Prayer  was  made  for  the  coming  Sunday.  Mean- 
while nothing  had  been  said  to  the  pupils  about 
decision  day.  They  came  to  school  expecting 
nothing  out  of  the  usual  course. 

II.  The  Day. — When  the  day  arrived,  Feb- 
ruary 23d,  the  pastor  preached  in  the  morning 
to  the  congregation  a  sermon,  addressed  rather 
to  adults  than  to  the  children,  on  "  Christ's  claim 
on   Childhood"   ("Suffer  the  little  children  to 


158   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

come  unto  me ;  forbid  them  not ").  The  super- 
intendent opened  the  school  with  devotional 
services,  choosing  evangelistic  hymns  like 
"  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul."  He  then  in  a  few 
words  told  the  intermediate  and  adult  classes 
what  was  proposed  for  that  day, — that  the 
teaching  of  the  regular  lesson  would  be  set 
aside  and  a  more  important  matter  made  the 
subject  of  consideration  in  those  classes  :  namely, 
our  personal  relation  to  Christ. 

The  pastor  then  spoke  briefly,  urging  decision 
for  Christ  and  open  confession  of  him. 

The  teachers  were  then  given  their  classes  for 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  in  order  that 
each  teacher  might  appeal  personally  to  each 
pupil  to  decide  for  Christ,  then  and  there.  For 
this  work  the  cards  furnished  the  teachers  were 
to  be  used.     The  cards  read : 

*'I  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Lord, 
and  I  trust  in  him  as  my  Saviour.  From 
this  day,  by  God*s  help  I  will  follow  him. 

Name — 

Address .*  * 

While  this  work  was  going  on  in  the  inter- 
mediate classes,  the  adult  classes  (all  of  whom 
were  church  members)  were  taken  by  the  pastor 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG  159 

into  a  smaller  room  apart  and  there  spent  the 
time  in  special  intercession  in  behalf  of  the 
teachers  and  the  pupils  in  the  main  room. 

The  pastor  then  called  the  school  to  order 
and  took  charge.  He  brought  in  the  adult 
classes.  He  again  made  a  brief  appeal  for,  and 
urged  the  necessity  of  immediate  decision  for 
Christ,  reminding  them  that  it  would  be  some 
day  too  late.  He  then  called  on  one  or  two 
older  men  for  testimonies  as  Christians.  Men 
were  chosen  to  speak  for  the  reason  that  boys 
are  harder  to  reach  on  such  an  occasion  than 
girls,  and  the  testimony  of  men  would  have 
more  influence  with  boys  than  that  of  women. 
He  then  asked  all  church  members  present  to 
stand.  He  then  asked  all  who  desired  to  be 
Christians  but  had  not  confessed  Christ  to  stand 
with  the  others.  Almost  the  entire  school  rose. 
To  test  them  farther  and  see  whether  they  would 
stand  out  alone,  he  had  all  seated  and  then 
invited  all  who  had  signed  cards  but  who  had 
not  otherwise  confessed  Christ  and  who  desired 
to  do  so  and  to  be  his  followers  to  rise  again  and 
stand  alone.  Again  almost  the  entire  school 
not  already  communicants  rose.  Among  them 
were  two  or  three  girls  of  sixteen  or  eighteen, 


i6o    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

who  sat  in  the  organ  loft  and  had  to  stand  up  in 
the  face  of  the  whole  school.  The  teachers 
were  then  asked  to  secure  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  all  who  had  risen  but  had  not  signed 
cards  and  to  pass  in  these  together  with  the 
signed  cards. 

There  was  no  conspicuous  manifestation  of 
feeling,  and  absolutely  no  commotion  or  outward 
excitement.  Indeed,  the  pastor  was  somewhat 
apprehensive  as  to  whether  there  was  enough 
emotion,  as  much  as  would  be  natural  on  such  an 
occasion,  if  there  was  a  realization  of  its  mean- 
ing. All  such  fears,  however,  were  dispelled  by 
what  he  afterwards  learned. 

III.  Afterwards ;  Conserving  the  Fruits. — 
The  real  work  was  now  only  begun.  Counting 
four  or  five  cards  which  came  in  during  the  next 
two  weeks,  seventy-six  had  signed  the  cards,  or 
given  in  their  names  without  signing.  These 
must  be  dealt  with  individually  by  the  pastor. 
They  must  be  examined,  instructed  and  brought, 
if  possible,  intelligently  into  the  full  communion 
of  the  church.  Their  parents  also  must  be  seen. 
And  this  must  be  done  without  delay.  The 
next  communion  was  to  be  on  Easter  Sunday, 
five  weeks  hence.     Towards  this  time  the  pastor 


EVANGELISM    FOR  THE   YOUNG    i6i 

had  determined  to  work  as  an  object  point  of 
final  decision.  Accordingly,  before  dismissing 
the  school  on  decision  day,  the  pastor  ap- 
pointed a  meeting  immediately  after  school  for 
all  who  had  signed  the  cards  or  stood  up,  to 
arrange  for  future  conferences  with  him. 

First  at  this  meeting  he  told  as  many  as  could 
do  so  to  tell  their  parents  what  they  had  done, 
ask  their  wishes  and  come  back  at  six  o'clock  that 
evening  to  talk  with  him.  About  thirty  came 
with  each  of  whom  the  pastor  had  personal  con- 
versation, learning  what  each  meant  by  signing 
the  card.  They  generally  said  they  signed  the 
card  for  just  what  it  said.  He  found  that  most 
of  them  meant  that  they  wanted  to  be  Christians 
and  to  join  the  church  and  that  most  of  the  par- 
ents were  willing. 

Second,  the  pastor  arranged  to  have  classes 
for  the  instruction  of  these  young  people  (as  is 
his  custom  preparatory  to  communion)  in  the 
great  truths  of  salvation  and  the  leading  duties 
of  the  Christian  life,  in  order  that  as  many  as 
wished  to  do  so  might  intelligently  come  to  the 
Lord's  table.  There  were  two  of  these  classes 
appointed,  one  on  Tuesday  afternoon  for  the 
younger,  and   one   on    Friday  evening   for  the 


i62   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

older  pupils.  After  evening  service  on  decision 
day,  he  distributed  the  names  to  adult  volunteer 
workers,  who  should  see  each  child  and  its  parents, 
explain  the  situation  and  secure  the  child's  at- 
tendance at  one  of  these  classes.  The  pastor 
also  himself  spent  the  next  two  or  three  days  en- 
tirely in  visiting  practically  every  parent,  to  ex- 
plain what  was  being  done,  to  ask  their  help  and 
to  secure  the  child  for  the  classes.  He  made 
upwards  of  seventy  calk,  and  found  almost  uni- 
versal approval  on  the  parents'  part.  He  also 
got  a  good  opportunity  to  talk  to  parents  not 
professing  Christians,  and  with  effect.  The 
course  of  instruction  embraced  five  lessons  and 
was  completed  in  four  weeks.  The  fifth  week, 
just  before  Easter,  was  taken  up  with  special  de- 
votional and  evangelistic  meetings  every  even- 
ing. Between  fifty  and  sixty  members  of  the 
Sunday-school  attended  these  classes  for  instruc- 
tion. Those  members  of  the  classes  who  wished 
to  come  to  communion,  towards  the  end  of  the 
four  weeks  instruction  met  the  session,  as  the 
pastor  thought  them  prepared  to  do  so. 

IV.  Results. — The  figures  are  as  nearly  exact 
as  I  can  make  them  at  this  time,  and  are  accu- 
rate, I   think;  certainly  they  are  substantially 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG   163 

correct.  Out  of  seventy-six  who  signed  cards  or 
gave  in  their  names,  fifty-three  came  to  the 
classes,  besides  some  others  who  had  not  signed 
cards.  Of  the  seventy-six  who  signed  cards, 
eighteen  never  took  any  further  interest,  but 
showed  in  conversation  that  their  signing  had 
been  without  proper  appreciation  of  what  they 
did.  Of  the  remaining  fifty-eight,  four  were 
kept  back  by  their  parents,  one  by  illness,  one 
or  two  united  with  another  church.  On  the 
other  hand,  others  were  drawn  into  the  classes 
and  the  church  who  had  not  signed  cards.  On 
Easter  Sunday  fifty-six  persons  were  received 
into  Westminster  Church.  Of  this  number  forty- 
four  were  by  confession  of  Christ ;  of  this  forty- 
four,  thirty-nine  were  members  of  the  Sunday- 
school  ;  and  of  the  others  who  came  on  the  same 
occasion,  by  letter  and  confession,  a  great  major- 
ity, I  think,  were  reached  and  brought  in  through 
the  influence  of  the  Sunday-school  and  particu- 
larly as  the  result  of  decision  day. 

Just  after  communion  Sunday  the  pastor  called 
together  his  session  and  distributed  to  the  elders 
the  names  of  the  new  members,  making  it  the 
duty  of  each  elder  to  exercise  special  watch  and 
care  over  certain  particular  persons,  to  observe 


i64   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

their  attendance  at  church  and  their  general  at- 
tention to  their  Christian  duties.  He  also  gave 
the  names  of  the  younger  ones  to  the  Endeavor 
Societies,  and  tried  to  get  them  all  into  the  one  or 
other  society  according  to  their  age.  He  fol- 
lowed up  communion  Sunday  with  a  sermon  on 
Steadfastness,  using  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  and 
the  four  different  soils.  And  he  took  occasion 
also  in  that  sermon  to  lay  upon  the  consciences 
of  parents,  and  especially  of  fathers,  that  the 
responsibility  for  their  children's  perseverance 
and  growth  in  the  Christian  hfe  rested  primarily 
on  them,  the  church  and  the  pastor  being 
the  parents'  helpers,  and  the  mother  alone 
being  seriously  hindered  by  a  father's  indiffer- 
ence. 

V.  Pointers. — 1  would  emphasize  the  follow- 
ing points  in  reference  to  decision  day : 

I.  Its  value.  I  believe  it  to  be  an  admirable 
institution.  Young  people  ought  to  be  brought 
to  a  point  of  decision.  They  may  otherwise 
drift  on  indefinitely.  One  or  more  days  in  the 
year  especially  used  for  that  purpose  will  insure 
this  being  done.  Pastors  and  teachers  them- 
selves are  apt  to  postpone  pressing  the  issue 
closely.     This  arouses  them  to  the  effort.    Other 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG   165 

features  of  the  day  are  valuable :  The  preparatory 
prayer,  the  careful  and  detailed  arrangement  of 
the  whole  plan,  the  common  practical  purpose, 
the  united  effort,  the  presentation  of  Christ's 
claim  as  a  matter  and  in  a  manner  requiring  im- 
mediate individual  decision,  the  personal  work 
secured  from  teachers  and  others,  the  example 
of  companions  who  make  the  decision,  are  good 
in  themselves  and  all  conspire  to  make  every 
effort  of  every  one  the  most  effective  possible 
and  the  day  memorable  to  all.  The  effort  for  and 
interest  in  their  children  also  give  a  closeness  of 
access,  to  many  unbelieving  parents  and  awaken 
their  consciences  as  hardly  anything  else  will. 
Decision  day  is  good  for  the  school,  good  for 
the  teachers,  good  for  the  pastor,  good  for  the 
parents,  good  for  the  church. 

2.  There  should  be  no  hurry  or  extempo- 
raneous effort.  The  work  should  be  taken  in 
hand  well  in  advance  of  the  day,  plenty  of  time 
allowed,  and  every  detail  should  be  carefully 
planned.  And  then,  having  planned  your  work, 
work  your  plan. 

3.  The  work  must  be  begun,  continued  and 
followed  up  in  prayer.  Prayer,  prayer,  prayer,  is 
the  absolute  essential  of  success. 


i66   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

4.  The  pastor  should  lead  and  direct  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end. 

5.  Merely  emotional  appeals  are  not  neces- 
sary or  desirable.  They  must  be  avoided  and 
the  conscience  sought.  Children  are  easily 
swept  away  by  mere  emotion  or  by  undue  pres- 
sure into  acts  which  are  without  permanent  sig- 
nificance and  essentially  insincere. 

6.  Individualizing  is  of  the  essence  of  the 
plan.  Neither  the  school  nor  the  separate 
classes  must  be  dealt  with  in  the  aggregate. 
Personal  work  with  each  individual  pupil  must 
be  done,  first  by  the  teacher  and  afterwards  by 
the  pastor. 

7.  Careful  examination  and  instruction  must 
follow  on  decision.  Some  sifting  process  is  al- 
ways necessary  after  such  a  wholesale  ingather- 
ing. The  utmost  care  will  not  prevent  some 
from  acting  inconsiderately ;  and  the  most  ear- 
nest have  usually  but  a  rudimentary  knowledge 
of  even  the  most  important  Christian  truths  and 
duties,  and  of  what  it  means  to  accept  Christ  and 
to  espouse  his  cause. 

8.  Those  who  are  found  after  this  instruction 
to  be  serious  in  their  purpose  should  be  brought 
at  once  into  full  communion  with  the  Church. 


EVANGELISM    FOR   THE   YOUNG  167 

Delay  or  neglect  here  may  prove  fatal  and  will 
probably  result  in  the  loss  of  all  the  advantage 
that  has  been  won  by  the  most  earnest  observ- 
ance of  decision  day. 

Announcement  Day. 
Since  it  may  be  true  that  in  many  of  our  Sun- 
day-schools, scholars  have  signed  the  inquirer's 
card,  might  it  not  be  well  to  have  one  or  more 
days  set  apart,  when  it  is  only  possible  after  care- 
ful training  and  with  the  consent  of  their  parents 
or  guardians,  should  sooner  show  determination 
to  identify  themselves  with  the  Church,  it  is  be- 
lieved if  such  a  day  or  days  should  be  observed, 
that  many  results  would  be  speedily  apparent. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   THE  LAITY 

There  is  a  disposition  to-day  in  some  quarters 
of  the  Church  to  make  a  wide  barrier  between 
the  minister  and  the  member  of  the  Church  be- 
cause the  hands  of  ordination  have  been  laid 
upon  the  pcistor's  head  and  not  upon  the  laity. 
It  is  thought  by  some  that  there  is  not  only  a 
special  privilege  given  to  the  minister  but  there 
are  special  obligations  resting  upon  him  for  serv- 
ice. This  is  a  heresy  for  which  there  is  no 
foundation  in  the  New  Testament.  More  and 
more  in  this  study  of  present  day  evangelism  we 
are  learning  of  the  important  position  occupied 
by  the  lay  members  of  the  Church.  Throughout 
the  entire  country  there  is  a  quickened  interest 
on  the  part  of  church  officers  and  church  mem- 
bers in  the  reaching  of  the  unsaved  and  the 
practicing  of  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  One  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the 
times  is  the  great  amount  of  work  which  is  be- 
ing accomplished  by  these  who  have  been  above 
i68 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   LAITY     169 

mentioned,  and  the  inspiration  also  which  they 
are  imparting  to  the  pastors  of  the  churches. 

In  the  early  days  not  only  the  apostles  but 
Christians  of  all  classes  recognized  their  responsi- 
bility for  the  extension  of  Christ's  Kingdom  and 
engaged  in  the  work  of  proclaiming  the  gospel. 
The  apostles  welcomed  all  as  helpers  whether  lay- 
men or  ministers,  men  or  women.  Only  three 
of  the  apostles  are  mentioned  in  the  Acts  after 
Pentecost,  whereas  at  least  five  laymen  became 
prominent  in  the  missionary  enterprise.  We  are 
told  that  after  the  dispersion  the  disciples,  save 
the  apostles,  went  about  preaching  the  word. 
The  whole  Church  was  filled  with  enthusiasm 
for  the  work.  Gibbon  places  first  among  the 
causes  for  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity  the 
fact  that  "  it  became  the  most  sacred  duty  of  a 
new  convert  to  diffuse  among  his  friends  the  in- 
estimable blessing  which  he  had  received." 
Thus  the  duty  of  the  evangelization  of  the  world 
was  not  the  burden  of  the  leaders  of  the  Church 
alone,  but  every  disciple  who  felt  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  as  a  great  desire  and  con- 
trolling object  of  life  the  salvation  of  his  fellow- 
men. 

That  there  is  a  financial  responsibility  resting 


lyo   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

upon  the  laity  all  will  agree.  Some  ministers 
are  remarkably  gifted  in  a  financial  way  but  there 
are  very  many  who  have  no  gift  at  all  in  this  di- 
rection and  to  be  forced  to  care  for  the  finances 
of  the  Church  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  dis- 
turbed concerning  even  the  payment  of  their 
own  salary,  is  to  have  their  influence  crippled 
and  greatly  injure  their  ability  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  an  evangelistic  way,  but  the  financial 
assistance  is  really  almost  the  least  help  that  can 
be  given. 

If  the  Church  is  to  be  evangelistic  and  the 
ministers  are  to  preach  with  power  in  this  direc- 
tion, then  first  of  all  it  will  be  because  the  laity 
appreciate  their  responsibility  either  in  helping 
along  the  truth  or  hindering  it.  Many  really 
great  sermons  are  rendered  practically  useless 
by  indifferent  hearing.  Some  men  come  into 
the  church  and  sit  with  their  eyes  closed,  others 
with  their  heads  in  their  hands,  others  with 
countenances  that  never  light  up  even  though  the 
message  be  filled  with  the  very  power  of  God 
himself.  In  excuse  for  this  they  say  that  it  is 
simply  their  manner  of  listening  to  a  sermon  and 
that  they  can  better  appreciate  the  preacher 
when  they  assume  this  attitude.     There  is  only 


RESPONSIBILITY    OF   LAITY     171 

one  rule  which  ought  to  be  binding  in  all  hearing 
in  the  Church,  it  is  this,  as  an  individual  I  have  a 
right  to  do  only  whatever  every  one  else  has  a 
right  to  do.  Suppose  every  one  sat  with  eyes 
closed,  what  if  every  one  in  the  audience  should 
sit  with  his  head  in  his  hands,  what  if  every 
countenance  was  stolid  and  apparently  indiffer- 
ent. Many  a  minister  has  gone  from  his  knees 
to  his  pulpit  with  his  heart  burning  and  has  no 
sooner  faced  his  congregation  than  his  heart  has 
become  Hke  lead,  but  all  this  is  the  exception 
and  not  the  rule. 

If  the  lay  members  of  the  Church  are  to  be 
used  the  following  must  be  true. 

First :  They  must  be  right  with  God.  This 
is  no  more  binding  upon  the  minister  than  upon 
the  Church  officer  or  Church  member. 

Some  years  ago  when  a  minister  had  been 
preaching  for  weeks  in  a  Western  city,  with  ap- 
parently no  special  interest  and  scarcely  a  hand 
lifted  for  prayer,  he  called  his  church  officers  to- 
gether to  ask  what  the  difficulty  might  be  and  he 
said,  **  Am  I  losing  my  power  to  preach  or  what 
is  it  that  is  hindering  us  ?  "  Then  Mr.  William 
Reynolds  of  sainted  memory  told  me  that  he 
rose  and  said,  "  I  do  not  know  what  the  other 


172    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

church  officers  may  say,  but  I  think  the  difficulty 
is  in  part  with  William  Reynolds."  They  had  a 
time  of  quiet  waiting  before  God  and  with  that 
night  there  came  a  blessing  to  that  meeting 
which  continued  for  days  and  weeks  with  a  great 
accession  to  the  Church  and  a  great  spiritual  up- 
lift to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  the  meeting. 

Second :  The  spirit  of  prayer  must  be  culti- 
vated. Again  and  again  it  has  been  said  on 
these  pages  that  without  the  spirit  of  prayer 
there  can  be  no  spirit  of  evangelism,  and  it  is 
certainly  true. 

"  Not  long  since,  in  a  church  in  Scotland,  a 
minister  suddenly  began  to  preach  with  unprece- 
dented power.  The  whole  congregation  was 
aroused  and  sinners  marvellously  saved.  He 
himself  did  not  understand  the  new  enduement. 
In  a  dream  of  the  night  it  was  strangely  sug- 
gested to  him  that  the  whole  blessing  was  trace- 
able to  the  one  poor  old  woman  who  was  stone 
deaf,  but  who  came  regularly  to  church,  and  be- 
ing unable  to  hear  a  word,  spent  all  the  time  in 
prayer  for  the  preacher  and  individual  hearers. 

"  In  the  biography  of  C.  G.  Finney  similar  facts 
are  recorded  of  *  Father  Nash,'  Abel  Cleary,  and 
others.     In    Newport,    England,   is    a    praying 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   LAITY     173 

circle  of  twelve  men,  who  have  met  for  thirty- 
years  every  Saturday  night  to  pray  for  definite 
blessings.  Not  one  death  occurred  in  their 
number  during  a  whole  quarter  century.  The 
first  impulse  leading  to  this  weekly  meeting  was 
interest  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry.  They  felt 
that  with  his  great  access  to  men  he  had  need  of 
pecuHar  power  from  above,  and  on  the  Sabbath 
following  their  first  meeting,  he  began  to  preach 
with  such  increased  unction  as  attracted  general 
notice. 

"  Examples  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
But  the  one  thing  we  would  make  prominent  is 
this ;  that  above  all  else,  God  is  calling  his  peo- 
ple to  new  prayer.  He  wills  that  '  men  pray 
everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands  without  wrath 
and  doubting ; '  that,  first  of  all,  supplication, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks  be 
made  for  all  men.  And  if  this  be  done,  first  of 
all,  every  other  most  blessed  result  will  follow. 
God  waits  to  be  asked.  He  has  the  fountains  of 
blessing  which  he  puts  at  the  disposal  of  his  pray- 
ing saints.  They  are  sealed  fountains  to  the  un- 
godly and  the  unbelieving.  But  there  is  one  key 
that  unlocks  even  heaven's  gates  ;  one  secret  that 
puts  connecting  channels  between  those  eternal 


174   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

fountains  and  ourselves,  that  key,  that  secret,  is 
prevailing  prayer."  ^ 

Third :  There  must  be  the  bond  of  sympathy 
between  pastor  and  people  if  the  spirit  of  evan- 
gelism is  to  be  developed.  If  Jesus  could  do  no 
mighty  works  because  of  their  unbelief  is  it 
strange  that  some  of  the  ministers  of  Jesus  so 
utterly  fail?  It  is  true  there  may  be  no  open 
opposition  to  his  evangelistic  preaching,  but  if 
there  is  lack  of  sympathy  and  he  is  at  all  sensi- 
tive it  will  crush  him.  My  foot  either  helps  me 
when  I  walk  or  hinders  me,  if  it  refuses  to  obey 
the  dictates  of  my  will,  then  I  cannot  walk  as  I 
should,  and  every  member  of  the  church  is  either 
a  help  or  a  hindrance,  either  a  barrier  or  a  chan- 
nel for  the  manifestation  of  the  power  of  God. 
I  one  time  received  a  letter  from  one  of  the 
members  of  my  church  in  which  he  said, 

"  Dear  Pastor  : 

"  I  shall  not  be  in  che  service  this  evening. 
Necessity  compels  me  to  stay  away,  but  I  esti- 
mate that  you  will  begin  to  preach  at  eight 
o'clock  and  close  at  8:30,  and  I  want  you  to 
know  that  this  half  hour  I  shall  be  on  my  knees." 

J  "  Forward  Movements  of  the  Last  Half  Century." 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   LAITY     175 

I  am  sure  I  never  preached  with  greater  liberty 
than  that  night.  I  one  time  said  I  want  all  of 
the  people  of  the  church  who  will  help  me  in 
the  special  meetings,  to  come  and  tell  me  what 
they  will  do,  and  one  old  Scotch  woman  came  to 
me  to  say  that  she  would  spend  every  day  of  the 
special  meetings  from  twelve  o'clock  until  one  in 
the  little  room  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  in  her 
house  praying  for  me,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
my  experience  that  month.  Whenever  the 
clock  struck  twelve  I  felt  as  if  I  stood  in 
heavenly  places  indeed.  I  had  the  joy  of  see- 
ing hundreds  of  people  come  to  Christ  in  those 
few  days. 

There  is  also  the  obligation  of  personal  help. 
Why  could  not  the  men  of  the  church  be  banded 
together  to  work  for  other  men  ?  I  know  of  one 
church  in  an  eastern  city  where  the  pastor  was 
not  attracting  great  companies  of  people.  One 
day  his  men  met  and  they  said  we  will  begin 
now  to  work  for  other  men  in  our  church.  We 
will  talk  about  our  minister's  preaching  and  en- 
courage him  in  his  work,  and  the  result  of  it  has 
been  the  development  of  one  of  the  strongest 
churches  in  America.  From  that  day  till  this  it 
has  been  a  church  overflowing  with  enthusiasm. 


1/6   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

Why  could  not  the  men  of  a  church  agree  to 
support  the  pastor  in  his  prayer-meetings,  being 
ready  with  a  brief  word  of  cheer  or  an  earnest 
prayer  for  blessing  upon  the  pastor  and  his  peo- 
ple. Why  could  not  just  a  few  men  wait  after 
the  evening  sermon  if  for  nothing  else  than  to 
sit  in  the  after-service  and  encourage  by  their 
presence  or  possibly  to  take  the  hand  of  the 
minister,  not  to  say  nice  things  about  his  sermon, 
for  a  true  minister  dislikes  this,  but  to  let  him 
know  by  a  warm  hand  clasp  that  he  has  been  a 
help  to  them  in  his  spirit.  Why  could  not  the 
men  of  the  church  plan  for  open  air  street  serv- 
ices in  the  city  or  town  ?  Why  not  encourage 
the  minister  to  preach  from  the  steps  of  his 
church  in  the  summer  time,  promising  him  not 
only  the  assistance  of  the  choir  but  such  en- 
couragement as  would  come  from  their  own 
presence?  Who  can  estimate  the  power  for 
good  if  such  a  spirit  as  this  should  be  abroad 
to-day  ?  This  in  the  truest  sense  is  present-day 
evangelism. 

One  of  our  New  York  ministers  during  a 
recent  summer  season  determined  to  preach  in 
the  park.  He  went  to  one  of  his  prominent 
men,  a   banker,  and   asked  him  for  assistance. 


RESPONSIBILITY   OF   LAITY     177 

He  supposing  that  financial  aid  was  required 
readily  promised  it  but  was  amazed  to  find  out 
that  his  minister  wished  him  to  stand  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  park  and  give  out  a  card  of  invita- 
tion. He  was  well  known  in  the  city,  exceed- 
ingly well  dressed  and  of  striking  appearance 
and  it  became  quite  an  embarrassment  after 
a  little  because  so  many  stopped  to  look  at  him. 
Finally  when  he  gave  one  young  man  a  card  he 
turned  back  to  him  and  said,  "  Who  are  you, 
anyway  ?  "  The  man  responded, "  I  do  not  know 
that  I  need  to  tell  you  that,  but  I  am  here  to  help 
my  minister  who  is  preaching  a  little  ways  from 
here  in  the  park  and  if  you  will  go  and  hear  him 
I  will  walk  with  you."  They  went  on  together. 
That  day  the  young  man  was  converted.  He 
has  since  joined  the  church  and  has  become  one 
of  the  most  efficient  workers  in  the  church. 
Who  can  estimate  the  power  for  good  that 
would  come  to  the  Church  of  Christ  if  the  lay 
members  of  the  church  to-day  should  simply 
awake  to  some  appreciation  of  the  measure  of 
their  responsibility. 

It  is  impossible  to  measure  what  might  be 
done  by  a  few  men  who,  catching  a  vision  of  the 
world   evangelized,  yield   themselves  wholly  to 


178    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

God  to  be  used  by  him  to  realize  the  vision.  Was 
it  not  one  man,  Peter  the  Hermit,  who  stirred  all 
Christendom  to  unexampled  sacrifice  of  prop- 
erty and  life  to  rescue  the  Holy  City  from  the 
Moslems?  Did  not  God  use  Carey  alone  to 
awaken  a  sleeping  church  and  usher  in  the 
marvellous  modern  missionary  era  ?  Was  it  not 
Clarkson  who  was  instrumental  in  quickening 
the  conscience  of  a  whole  nation  to  abolish  the 
slave  trade?  Was  it  not  Howard,  who,  also 
single-handed  and  alone,  laid  bare  before  the  eyes 
of  the  world  the  sad  state  and  suffering  of  the 
prisoners  of  different  lands  and  brought  about 
reforms  for  the  amelioration  of  their  condition  ? 
So  to-day,  let  not  one,  or  a  few,  but  many  of 
those  in  all  lands  and  among  all  races  who 
acknowledge  Christ  as  King  arise  and  resolve,  at 
whatever  cost,  to  devote  their  lives  to  leading 
forward  the  hosts  of  God  to  fill  the  whole  world 
with  a  knowledge  of  Christ  in  this  generation.* 

i^'The  Evangelization  of  the  World." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   OFFICE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST 

That  particular  Scripture  which  refers  to  the 
office  of  the  evangelist  is  found  in  Paul's  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  the  fourth  chapter  and  the 
eleventh  verse,  "  And  he  gave  some  apostles ; 
and  some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists,  and 
some  pastors  and  teachers." 

It  is  true  that  there  is  some  difference  of 
opinion  concerning  the  interpretation  of  this 
passage  of  Scripture,  and  there  are  those  who 
hold  that  the  word  "  Evangelist "  refers  more  to 
a  principle  than  to  a  person,  but  it  is  likewise 
true  that  if  a  general  consensus  of  opinion  be 
taken  of  those  who  have  labored  conspicuously 
in  the  church  in  the  past  and  present,  that  that 
interpretation  would  be  favored  which  considers 
the  evangelist  as  a  person  and  his  office  as  of 
divine  appointment. 

Wishing  to  know  the  interpretation  given 
concerning  Eph.  4:  11,  by  a  recognized  scholar 
in  the  church.  Prof.  W.  G.  Moorehead  of  the 
179 


i8o    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

United    Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary,  of 
Xenia,  Ohio,  has  by  request  written  as  follows : 

1 .  Christ  alone  is  the  source  of  all  ministry  ; 
he  gives  both  the  gifts  and  the  men ;  "  he 
gave,"  etc. 

2.  Four  classes  of  ministries  and  ministers 
are  enumerated : 

(a)  Apostles.  Both  here  and  in  i  Cor.  12:28, 
these  stand  at  the  head.  The  apostle  had  cer- 
tain qualifications  and  marks,  seven  in  all ; 

1.  Had  seen  the  Lord,     i  Cor.  9:1. 

2.  A  witness  of  his  resurrection.  Acts 
I  :  22. 

3.  Received  his  commission  directly  from 
Christ.     Galatians  1:1. 

4.  Inspired.     John  14:26;  16:13;  Gal.   i: 

13,  14. 

5.  Had  miraculous  powers.     2  Cor.  12:  12. 

6.  Founded  the  Church,  i  Cor.  3:10,  11; 
Ephesians  2 :  20. 

7.  Had  supreme  authority.  John  20 :  22,  23 ; 
I  Cor.  5:4,  5. 

(b)  Prophets.  Described  in  i  Cor.  14.  He 
seems  to  have  been  one  who  had  a  special 
divine  message,  and  this  did  not  always  refer  to 
future   events ;  it  had  often  to  do  with  present 


OFFICE    OF   THE    EVANGELIST    i8i 

conditions,  and  also  with  the  past.  I  think  the 
prophet  was  inspired  in  his  utterances.  Both 
prophet  and  apostle  were  extraordinary  offices, 
and  had  no  successors. 

(r)  Evangelists.  Compare  Acts  8.  I  believe 
this  office  was  as  distinct  and  definite  as  that  of 
apostle  or  prophet,  though  both  the  latter  may 
have  had  evangelistic  gifts,  as  no  doubt  they 
had.  But  the  primitive  church  recognized  the 
office  of  evangelist,  as  the  "Teaching  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles,"  belonging  almost  certainly  to 
the  first  century  proves.  The  evangelist  cor- 
responded somewhat  closely  with  our  modern 
missionary.  He  preached  the  gospel  to  the  un- 
saved, as  Philip  did  in  Samaria,  as  Timothy  was 
exhorted  to  do.    2  Tim.  4:5. 

He  was  specially  set  apart,  at  least  some- 
times, for  his  mission,  as  the  passages  in  Timothy 
above  indicate.  Perhaps  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  also.  Acts  13:1,2.  In  the  case  of  Philip 
there  appears  to  have  been  no  action ;  but  we 
must  remember  that  he  with  the  other  six  had 
been  "  set  apart  "  by  the  apostles  before  he  went 
to  Samaria.    Acts  6. 

(d')  Pastors  and  Teachers.  This  clearly  is  a 
single  office,  not  two.     He  who  held  it  fulfilled 


i82    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

both  its  functions,  though  no  doubt  his  chief  work 
was  to  teach,  i.  c,  build  up  the  saints  in  the  faith 
and  godHness.  I  think,  therefore,  that  in  this 
passage  in  Ephesians  we  have  the  Hst  of  minis- 
tries of  the  Christian  Church ;  viz. :  Apostles, 
who  under  Christ  founded  it ;  prophets,  who  de- 
clared the  will  of  God  for  the  guidance  of  the 
Church ;  evangelists,  who  carried  the  Gospel 
everywhere,  "  for  the  obedience  of  faith."  Pas- 
tors and  teachers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  feed  and 
guide  the  flock  of  God.  I  believe,  also,  that 
the  modern  Church  has  lamentably  failed  to 
recognize  the  office  of  the  evangelist  and  ac- 
cordingly has  reaped  its  harvest  in  weakness 
and  limitations  of  increase  and  growth.  I  be- 
lieve that  if  the  Church  would  solemnly  recog- 
nize this  gift,  and  set  it  apart,  and  use  it  for  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  and  the  salvation  of  men, 
there  would  be  far  less  of  complaint  than  there 
now  is.  But  there  is  an  evangeHstic  gift,  which 
is  of  the  spirit,  and  that  alone  justifies  such 
recognition.  Neither  a  university,  nor  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  nor  a  presbytery,  nor  a  bishop 
can  "  make  either  a  pastor  and  teacher,  or  an 
evangelist.  Only  the  glorified  Christ  can." 
With  the  desire  that  we  might  have  also  the 


OFFICE    OF   THE    EVANGELIST    183 

opinion  of  a  successful  and  highly  reputed  pastor 
evangelist,  the  following  has  been  sent  to  me  for 
this  chapter. 

"  With  regard  to  the  field,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  many  men  are  disposed  to  contend  that 
they  are  not  evangelists  who  work  in  the  home 
field ;  that  the  Scriptural  evangelist  is  only  one 
who  works  in  unoccupied  territory,  where  the 
churches  have  not  yet  been  organized.  This 
contention  I  do  not  believe  could  possibly  be 
maintained.  Paul's  first  missionary  journey  was 
establishing  churches;  his  second  missionary 
journey  was  largely  strengthening  churches  al- 
ready organized.  He  was  as  much  of  an  evan- 
gelist at  one  time  as  the  other.  The  evident 
mark  of  God's  approval  which  rests  upon  the 
work  as  it  is  being  conducted  by  those  workers 
who  labor  in  the  organized  Church  is  a  clear 
proof  of,  not  only  the  need  of  such  a  work,  but 
of  God's  desire  to  have  it  done  by  special  mes- 
sengers. I  believe  that  there  is  nothing  more 
needed  to-day  than  that  the  churches,  as  such, 
should  be  warned  against  the  old  and  hurtful 
practice  of  employing  any  one  who  might  choose 
to  term  himself  an  evangelist.  The  very  reason 
why  evangelism  is  in  such  disrepute,  and  has  so 


i84   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

many  difficulties  to  meet  in  its  work  to-day,  is 
because  the  churches  persist  in  making  use  of 
inexperienced  and  unordained  men. 

"  Formerly,  the  evangelist  need  know  only  the 
word  of  God  in  its  spiritual  import;  he  must 
now  know  the  organized  Church  and  how  to 
make  use  of  it  in  all  its  several  departments— 
the  Young  People's  societies,  the  Sabbath-school 
work  and  all  men's  organizations,  as  well  as 
women's. 

"  For  an  untrained  man  to  come  into  a  pastor- 
ate,  who  has  never  had  experience  himself  in 
organizing  and  constructing  the  machinery  of  a 
church,  will  almost  surely  result  in  a  disrupting 
of  the  pastoral  relation  in  that  field.     He  charges 
the  pastor  with  his  failure  to  accomplish  large 
results,  and  is  himself  unable  to  appreciate  the 
real  cause  of  the  difficulty,  because  he  has  never 
himself  been  a  pastor.     The  ordained  evangelist 
should  be  one  who  has  formerly  been  a  pastor. 
I  once  heard  Mr.  Moody  make  this  strong  state- 
ment :  that  no  one  should  be  an  evangelist  who 
had    not    previously   been  a  pastor.     He  him- 
self recognized  that  he  had  his  pastoral  training 
in    Chicago   which    was    true.     Then,   too,   the 
modern  evangelist  must  necessarily  be  a  trained 


OFFICE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST    185 

organizer.  If  he  is  not  thus  gifted  naturally,  he 
must  be  so  acquainted  with  methods  of  others 
as  to  be  able  to  put  them  into  use." 

The  evangelist  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  be- 
ing professional.  I  do  not  at  all  like  tlie  word 
professional  as  applied  to  the  evangelist,  and 
only  use  it  in  the  sense  in  which  one  might 
speak  of  the  pastor  as  professional  and  for  want 
of  a  better  expression. 

I  have  known  the  Church  long  enough  to 
know  that  he  is  needed  and  his  work  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  well  rounded  out  experi- 
ence of  the  Church.  I  have  studied  my  Bible 
with  sufficient  care  to  know  that  his  office  is  of 
divine  appointment  and  can  no  more  be  obliter- 
ated than  the  office  of  pastor  or  teacher,  and  yet 
as  a  matter  of  fact  the  real  soul  winner  is  the 
pastor,  his  first  assistant  is  the  church-member 
and  the  evangelist  is  the  specialist  who  comes  to 
perform  a  needed  service  at  a  critical  time.  If 
he  is  a  man  with  a  message  he  ought  to  be  re- 
ceived with  wide-open  arms  and  with  true  heart- 
felt sympathy  by  those  with  whom  he  comes  to 
labor. 

There  is  no  question  at  all  but  what  the 
evangelist  has  fallen  in  the  past  into  disrepute 


i86    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

and  for  various  reasons.  Possibly  because  in 
these  days  any  one  can  be  an  evangelist  if  he 
wishes  to  be.  If  he  grows  weary  of  his  pastorate, 
if  he  has  failed  in  other  walks  of  life,  then  he 
constitutes  himself  an  evangelist  and  frequently 
does  harm  to  the  sacred  office  and  works  havoc 
among  the  members  of  the  church.  It  is  quite 
true  that  there  are  some  men  who  are  evangelists 
as  some  one  has  put  it,  for  revenue  only,  but  it 
is  my  privilege  to  know  as  many  evangelists  as 
possibly  any  other  man  and  this  criticism  no 
more  applies  to  the  evangelist  than  to  the  pastor. 
There  are  men  in  both  positions  who  reflect 
little  credit  upon  the  office  they  hold.  There 
are  many  men  in  the  position  who  have  really 
an  honest  desire  to  do  good  and  yet  work  harm 
because  they  are  not  trained  for  the  position,  but 
at  whose  door  shall  we  place  the  responsibility 
for  this,  if  not  at  the  door  of  those  who  have  in 
charge  the  educational  work  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  We  train  our  ministers  and  give  them 
special  oversight.  They  are  not  Hcensed  if  they 
are  not  orthodox.  Their  license  is  recalled  if  at 
any  time  they  become  heterodox  either  in  living 
or  teaching.  We  train  our  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  secretaries,  and  we  are  coming 


OFFICE   OF   THE    EVANGELIST    187 

more  and  more  to  train  the  superintendents 
of  our  Sunday-schools,  but  who  knows  of  a 
place  where  evangelists  may  be  thoroughly 
trained  ?  There  are  institutions  it  is  true  sending 
forth  pastor's  helpers,  but  the  real  evangelist  who 
may  rank  side  by  side  with  the  pastor  intellec- 
tually and  socially,  where  is  he  being  trained 
to-day?  It  ought  to  be  a  part  of  the  work 
of  the  theological  seminaries.  I  cannot  under- 
stand how  it  can  at  all  be  inconsistent  with  the 
highest  scholarship  to  train  men  to  evangeUze, 
nor  why  the  seminary  should  not  be  a  place 
where  men's  souls  would  be  set  on  fire  for  God. 
It  is  because  the  church  has  exercised  little  over- 
sight in  this  matter  that  irresponsible  evangelists 
have  gone  forth  into  the  church,  sometimes 
doing  a  work  it  is  true  which  causes  the  very 
angels  to  rejoice,  but  frequently  leaving  the 
church  in  a  worse  condition  than  when  they 
found  it,  but  when  all  this  has  been  said,  still  it 
is  true  that  there  are  men  who  are  called  of  God 
to  be  evangelists.  I  am  quite  sure  as  a  rule  that 
they  ought  to  have  a  pastoral  experience  in 
order  that  they  may  be  in  sympathy  with  pastors 
whom  they  help.  However  there  are  notable 
exceptions  to  this — but  whether  ordained  or  not 


i88   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 


I 


— they  ought  to  be  free  to  preach  wherever  God 
may  call  them,  and  yet  in  every  way  responsible 
to  the  church  with  which  they  may  be  identified. 
They  are  evangelists  because  their  peculiar  gifts 
are  along  evangelistic  lines,  their  messages  are 
frequently  too  intense  for  the  regular  life  of  the 
church,  they  are  sometimes  not  careful  enough 
in  matters  of  detail  without  which  the  church  is 
weak;  they  are  not  always  pastors  without 
which  service  no  church  is  strong.  They  chafe 
under  restriction  like  birds  beating  their  wings 
against  the  bars  of  a  cage,  and  they  are  called  of 
God  to  go  forth  from  city  to  city  as  Paul  went, 
as  the  Wesleys  went,  as  Finney,  Whittle,  Moody, 
and  a  host  of  others  have  gone.  The  church 
ought  to  bid  them  Godspeed,  but  there  are 
certain  rules  which  should  govern  the  evangelist 
of  the  church. 

First :  They  ought  to  be  men  under  control 
of  the  courts  of  the  church  so  far  as  their  preach- 
ing and  teaching  is  concerned. 

Second:  They  ought  to  be  men  with  the 
sympathy  and  confidence  of  their  brethren  with 
whom  they  have  labored. 

Third :  They  ought  to  be  men  with  a  mes- 
sage.    There  are  hundreds  of  such  men  to-day 


OFFICE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST    189 

in  the  church  who  are  but  waiting  for  an  indica- 
tion that  the  church  would  stand  by  them  if  they 
should  attempt  this  work,  and  their  going  forth 
would  mean  a  mighty  revival  of  religion  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other. 

There  are  certain  places  where  evangelists  are 
needed. 

First:  On  the  western  frontier.  To  assist 
the  men  who  are  pastors  of  our  home  mission 
churches  who  are  so  busy  in  the  work  which  has 
been  committed  to  their  care  that  they  have 
almost  no  time  and  frequently  are  too  weary  to 
make  a  personal  appeal  to  the  unsaved,  an  evan- 
gelist would  be  an  inspiration  and  in  many  cases 
lift  the  church  free  from  the  support  of  the 
Boards  of  Home  Missions. 

Second:  They  are  needed  in  the  smaller 
cities  and  towns  where  pastors  easily  grow  dis- 
couraged because  they  must  of  necessity  move 
in  a  comparatively  small  circle.  They  are  in 
many  cases  away  from  the  centres  of  life  and  in- 
fluence, in  some  of  the  rural  churches  they  meet 
few  men  knowing  more  than  themselves  in  their 
own  line  of  work,  and  in  such  places  it  is  the 
easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  a  minister  to  lose 
his  zeal  and  have  the  power  taken  from  his  mes- 


I90    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELIST 

sage.  Not  infrequently  it  is  in  such  a  condition 
that  they  turn  away  from  the  old  well-trodden 
paths  of  the  orthodox  and  seek  after  the  liberal 
interpretation  of  truth.  They  think  this  may 
draw  the  people  to  them  and  restore  their  old 
position  of  effectiveness  and  power,  but  alas  what 
a  mistake.  An  evangelist  well  equipped  men- 
tally and  spiritually  would  be  an  untold  blessing 
in  such  a  community  and  would  save  the  church 
not  only  but  the  man  too  who  preaches,  and  if 
scores  of  souls  should  be  saved  yet  the  still 
greater  work  would  be  the  inspiration  and 
hope  breathed  into  the  soul  of  the  discouraged 
preacher. 

Third:  They  are  needed  in  the  larger  and 
more  successful  churches,  in  the  rich  and  influ- 
ential communities,  by  the  pastor  who  has  toiled 
for  years  and  has  led  a  certain  number  of  peo- 
ple to  the  border  land  of  the  kingdom  and  for 
some  reason  can  lead  them  no  further.  These 
men  almost  break  the  minister's  heart,  and  not 
infrequently  a  new  voice  telling  the  old  story,  a 
new  way  of  conducting  the  service  will  arouse 
conviction  and  quicken  the  desire  to  know  the 
Saviour.  It  was  my  privilege  to  stand  side  by 
side  with  one  of  the  distinguished  pastors  in  this 


OFFICE    OF   THE    EVANGELIST    191 

country  who  introduced  me  in  this  way,  "  I  have 
been  twenty-five  years  in  this  church.  I  have 
married  the  most  of  you,  baptized  your  children, 
and  buried  your  dead.  I  have  preached  to  you 
faithfully  and  I  have  seen  many  of  you  come 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  I  can  count  a 
score  or  more  this  morning  who  are  still  unsaved. 
It  is  an  awful  thing  to  be  together  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  with  those  whom  you  love  and  then 
away  from  each  other  for  eternity.  It  is  with 
the  hope  that  I  might  win  you  that  I  have  asked 
my  friend  here  to  come  and  preach,  not  a  new 
Gospel,  but  the  old  story,  in  perhaps  a  new 
way."  With  tears  and  much  emotion  he  sat 
down.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  his  heart 
was  made  glad  by  the  coming  of  some  of  these 
at  least  for  whom  he  was  concerned. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   EVANGELIST   IN   SONG 

The  power  of  music  cannot  be  over-estimated 
in  the  study  of  present-day  evangelism.  The 
name  of  Sankey  is  inseparably  connected  with 
that  of  Mr.  Moody  and  thousands  of  men  to-day 
rise  up  to  call  the  singer  blessed  as  well  as  to 
thank  God  for  the  mighty  man  who  preached 
the  Gospel  of  love  and  tenderness  as  very  few 
preached  it  in  his  generation. 

To  sing  the  Gospel  is  oftentimes  more  effective 
than  to  preach  it,  and  a  multitude  of  people  may 
be  influenced  by  the  sweet  singing  of  the  truths 
of  the  Bible,  who  would  be  indifferent  to  the 
most  eloquent  preacher. 

Men  are  called  to  sing  the  Gospel  as  well  as  to 
preach  it,  and  God  has  given  to  many  of  these 
consecrated  workers  messages  which  have  won- 
derfully stirred  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  their 
hearers. 

Most  interesting  stories  have  been  written  con- 
cerning the  circumstances  under  which  hymns  in 
192 


THE    EVANGELIST   IN   SONG    193 

the  olden  times  were  written.  "  Jesus  Lover  of 
my  Soul "  ;  "  Rock  of  Ages,"  and  "  My  Jesus  as 
Thou  Wilt,"  all  have  their  histories  which  if 
known  always  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the 
song  and  the  power  of  the  singer.  The  same  is 
true  of  many  of  the  modern  hymns. 

Years  ago  when  P.  P.  Bliss  was  in  the  midst 
of  his  greatest  work  he  came  one  day  into  the 
presence  of  his  co-laborers  and  said,  "  The  sub- 
ject which  has  been  announced  for  to-day  needs 
a  special  hymn  and  on  my  knees  God  has  given 
me  the  following : 

«  Man  of  sorrows,  what  a  name, 
For  the  Son  of  God  who  came, 
Ruined  sinners  to  reclaim ! 
Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour ! 

«  Bearing  shame  and  scoffing  rude. 
In  my  place  condemned  he  stood ; 
Sealed  my  pardon  with  his  blood; 
Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour ! 

«  Guilty,  vile  and  helpless,  we ; 
Spotless  Lamb  of  God  was  he ; 
Full  atonement !  can  it  be  ? 
Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour ! 

«  Lifted  up  was  he  to  die, 
It  is  finished,  was  his  cry. 
Now  in  heaven  exalted  high ; 
Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour ! 


194   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

"  When  he  comes,  our  glorious  king, 
All  his  ransomed  home  to  bring. 
Then  anew  this  song  we'll  sing; 
Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour !  " 

He  laid  the  piece  of  paper  down  before  his 
friends  and  behold  in  the  verses  was  a  complete 
statement  of  the  work  of  Christ  from  his  incar- 
nation to  his  coming  in  glory.  The  effect  of  the 
hymn  upon  the  audience  was  something  truly 
remarkable.  It  is  said  that  they  took  up  the  re- 
frain again  and  again  until  it  almost  seemed  as  it 
they  were  a  part  of  an  angel  choir  praising  the 
risen  Son  of  God. 

In  more  recent  years  Mr.  W.  S.  Weeden  has 
given  to  the  collection  of  Gospel  Hymns  a  song 
entitled,  •'  My  Mother's  Prayer." 

"  I  never  can  forget  the  day, 
I  heard  my  mother  kindly  say. 
You're  leaving  now  my  tender  care ; 
Remember  child  your  mother's  prayer. 

«  Whene'er  I  think  of  her  so  dear, 
I  feel  her  angel  spirit  near ; 
A  voice  comes  floating  on  the  air, 
Reminding  me  of  mother's  prayer. 

"  I  never  can  forget  the  voice, 
That  always  made  my  heart  rejoice ; 
Tho'  I  have  wandered  God  knows  where, 
Still  I  remember  mother's  prayer. 


THE   EVANGELIST   IN   SONG    195 

"  Tho'  years  have  gone,  I  can't  forget, 
Those  words  of  love — I  hear  them  yet ; 
I  see  her  by  the  old  armchair. 
My  mother  dear  in  humble  prayer. 

•«  I  never  can  forget  the  hour, 
I  felt  the  Saviour's  cleansing  power, 
My  sin  and  guilt  he  cancelled  there, 
*Twas  there  he  answered  mother's  prayer. 

«*  Oh  praise  the  Lord  for  saving  grace, 
We'll  meet  up  yonder  face  to  face, 
The  home  above  together  share, 
In  answer  to  my  mother's  prayer." 

This  hymn  was  practically  the  story  of  his  own 
life.  He  was  a  wayward  boy  and  had  almost 
broken  his  mother's  heart,  but  she,  like  the  true 
mother  that  she  was,  never  gave  him  up  and 
when  he  went  away  to  the  war,  with  her  arms 
about  his  neck  she  told  him  that  she  had  prayed 
for  him  since  he  was  born  and  would  continue  to 
pray  for  him  until  he  came  to  Christ.  Her  ten- 
der message  never  for  a  moment  left  him.  He 
came  to  Christ,  became  an  evangelist  in  song, 
has  been  the  instrument  in  God's  hands  of  lead- 
ing a  multitude  to  Christ,  and  had  the  joy  of  sit- 
ting beside  his  old  mother  when  she  passed  into 
the  presence  of  the  King,  her  face  glowing  and 
her   heart    overflowing    with    joy   because    her 


196    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

prayers  had   been   answered   and   her  son  had 
come  home. 

P.  P.  Bilhorn  is  the  author  of  a  hymn  entitled, 
"  The  Best  Friend  to  have  is  Jesus." 

«  O  the  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus, 
When  the  cares  of  life  upon  you  roll ; 
He  will  heal  the  wounded  heart, 
He  will  strength  and  grace  impart ; 

0  the  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus. 

«*  What  a  friend  I  have  found  in  Jesus  ! 
Peace  and  comfort  to  my  soul  he  brings  ; 
Leaning  on  his  mighty  arm, 

1  will  fear  no  ill  or  harm  ; 

O  the  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus. 

«  Tho'  I  pass  thro'  the  night  of  sorrow. 
And  the  chilly  waves  of  Jordan  roll, 
Never  need  I  shrink  or  fear. 
For  my  Saviour  is  so  near ; 
O  the  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus. 

"  When  at  last  to  our  home  we  gather. 
With  the  loved  ones  who  have  gone  before. 
We  will  sing  upon  the  shore, 
Praising  him  forevermore. 
The  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus." 

He  told  me  that  he  was  once  invited  to  go  and 
see  a  woman  who  had  been  prostrated  upon  a 
bed  of  suffering  for  years.  When  he  had  talked 
with  her  about  the  Saviour  and  had  sung  one  of 
his  hymns  to  her  he  asked  her  for  the  story  of 

1 


THE   EVANGELIST   IN   SONG    197 

her  sickness  and  she  told  him  that  some  time  be- 
fore, on  a  bitterly  cold  night  she  had  been  an- 
noyed by  the  slamming  of  the  gate  and  so  she 
walked  out  of  the  door  when  the  wind  was  blow- 
ing a  hurricane  and  closed  the  gate  for  herself. 
She  succeeded  in  doing  this  but  as  she  started 
back,  the  pathway  being  icy,  she  slipped  and  fell. 
No  one  could  hear  her  cries  for  help.  Suddenly 
she  realized  that  she  was  sinking  and  she  began 
to  call  out  to  Jesus  to  assist  her.  Some  one  in 
the  providence  of  God  passing  by  heard  her  cry, 
helped  her  into  the  house  and  for  all  the  weary 
months  since  she  had  been  upon  her  bed  of  pain. 
As  she  told  the  story  she  said,  "  I  have  had 
many  good  friends  to  assist  me  during  these  days 
but  the  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus,"  and  then 
said  the  evangelist  in  song,  God  almost  instantly 
gave  me  this  message,  and  before  I  left  her  house 
I  had  written  out  the  verses  and  set  them  to 
music,  and  a  great  choir  scattered  throughout 
many  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  our  country  has 
been  taking  up  the  music  ever  since. 

"  He  will  hear  you  when  you  call, 
He  will  help  you  when  you  fall, 
The  best  friend  to  have  is  Jesus." 

There  is  a  great  field  open  to-day  for  men  and 


198    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

women  who  can  sing  the  Gospel ;  possibly  the 
call  has  never  been  louder  or  the  demand  greater 
than  at  the  present  time.  Those  who  may  be 
prejudiced  against  the  evangelist  have  only 
words  of  encouragement  for  the  evangelist  in 
song.  There  are  five  things  however  which  are 
absolutely  essential  if  one  is  to  be  blessed  in  his 
work  in  this  direction. 

First:  He  must  feel  a  distinct  and  definite 
call  to  the  work,  just  such  a  call  as  a  minister 
would  have  if  he  is  to  preach  the  Gospel.  If 
there  is  a  desire  to  do  the  work,  if  some  degree 
of  success  has  been  attained  in  the  doing  of  it, 
if  doors  seem  to  open  before  the  one  who  longs 
to  sing  the  Gospel,  then  these  things  may  in  part 
at  least  be  an  evidence  of  a  real  call  to  serv- 
ice. 

Second:  There  must  be  a  consecrated  life 
back  of  the  song.  Consecration  is  not  giving  to 
Christ  for  if  we  are  Christians  we  are  his  already, 
his  by  redemption,  his  because  God  gave  us  to 
him  and  his  because  long  years  ago,  possibly, 
when  we  became  his  followers  we  gave  ourselves 
to  him,  but  consecration  is  taking  our  hands  off 
from  that  which  is  God's  property  and  allowing 
him   to   have   his    own  way  with   us.     What  a 


THE   EVANGELIST   IN   SONG    199 

power  many  singers  would  be  if  they  were  only 
thus  set  apart. 

Third:  There  must  be  a  clean  heart.  God 
does  not  ask  for  either  golden  vessels  or  silver 
vessels,  but  he  must  have  clean  ones,  and  that 
singer  who  covers  sin  in  his  life  will  not  only  not 
prosper  but  he  cannot  move  others  towards 
Christ.  It  is  no  more  essential  for  the  preacher 
to  be  right  with  God  than  that  the  singer  should 
be. 

Fourth :  He  must  believe  that  men  without 
Christ  are  lost  and  confidently  believe  that  the 
song  he  sings  may  win  them  to  Christ.  This 
first  conviction  will  give  him  pathos  in  his  serv- 
ice, the  second  will  give  him  real  power. 

Fifth :  He  must  have  ability  to  sing,  not 
simply  to  read  music  nor  even  to  sing  with  what 
may  be  called  artistic  effect,  for  one  who  may  be 
successful  in  opera  or  even  in  concert  singing 
might  fail  in  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  but  if 
there  is  a  real  conviction  that  God  has  called  him 
to  sing,  if  he  understands  the  principles  of  music, 
if  he  knows  how  to  use  properly  the  voice  which 
God  has  given  him,  if  he  can  sing  with  feeling 
and  tenderness  and  above  all  if  he  can  sing  so  as 
to  be  understood  by  those  who  listen  to  him, 


200   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

then  he  may  really  believe  that  his  life  is  to  be 
one  of  blessing  and  his  ministry  of  song  will 
constantly  increase  in  its  efficiency. 

Such  singers  are  of  the  very  greatest  value  to 
the  evangelist.  They  are  not  and  they  ought 
not  to  be  the  business  agent  of  the  evangelist ; 
they  are  not  to  serve  in  the  capacity  of  a  private 
secretary,  they  are  not  to  be  his  servant,  for  the 
position  of  the  evangelist  in  song  is  side  by  side 
with  the  evangelist  who  preaches  the  Gospel. 
They  should  have  charge  of  the  choir  in  his 
services,  they  should  prepare  for  and  supplement 
his  work.  An  indifferent  audience  is  oftentimes 
prepared  for  the  sermon  by  the  service  of  song 
so  that  the  preacher  loses  no  time  in  coming  at 
once  to  the  very  heart  of  his  message,  and  he 
finds  it  easy  with  such  work  done  before  him  to 
make  an  appeal  to  the  unsaved  to  come  to 
Christ.  He  is  not  only  to  be  the  leader  of  a 
choir  but  the  singer  of  solos,  and  frequently  his 
songs  will  stir  the  emotions  where  the  spoken 
word  has  failed. 

When  Jesus  sent  out  the  seventy  he  sent  them 
two  by  two.  Perhaps  he  sent  a  singer  and  a 
speaker,  but  whether  he  did  or  not  he  sent  labor- 
ers who  could  supplement  each  the  service  of 


! 


THE   EVANGELIST   IN   SONG    201 

the  other,  whose  weakness  might  be  offset  by 
the  other's  strength. 

The  evangeHst  in  song  is  naturally  a  most 
helpful  assistant  to  the  pastor  in  a  series  of 
meetings.  He  sustains  the  same  relation  to  him 
as  to  the  evangelist  who  preaches,  only  he  is 
able  in  addition  if  he  has  had  any  amount  of  ex- 
perience to  hold  the  after-meeting  with  most 
excellent  results.  Such  singers  and  workers  are 
to  be  had  in  this  country  to-day  and  no  greater 
blessing  could  come  to  a  church  than  that  they 
should  be  invited  to  labor  with  the  minister. 
Many  a  pastor  has  discovered  that  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  real  evangelistic  gifts  after  he  had  been 
associated  with  a  singing  evangelist,  who  never 
imagined  before  that  time  that  his  ability  ran  in 
this  direction. 

There  is  a  wide  open  door  for  present  day 
evangelism  for  the  man  who  possesses  the  gifts 
above  referred  to,  only  he  ought  to  remember 
that  he  cannot  be  a  mere  concert  singer  and  he 
must  as  truly  have  a  message  for  the  audience  as 
must  the  preacher  whose  sermon  he  is  to  follow. 
He  must  avoid  such  mannerisms  as  would  draw 
the  attention  of  the  audience  from  his  song  to 
himself    and    he    must    above   all   things    fight 


202    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

against  mere  professionalism.  Such  singing  has 
a  hollow  ring  and  while  it  may  hold  the  atten- 
tion of  the  hearer  does  not  spiritually  move 
him. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SPECIAL    EVANGELISTIC   MEETINGS 

Whatever  may  be  the  emphasis  placed  upon 
pastoral  or  personal  evangelism,  however  stren- 
uously we  may  contend  for  the  use  of  the  ordi- 
nary means  of  grace,  the  special  evangelistic 
service  is  a  necessity.  God  has  certainly  set  his 
seal  of  approval  upon  it  in  the  past  and  when 
properly  used  and  not  abused  it  is  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  the  entire  community.  In  its  relation 
to  the  unsaved  it  is  helpful  because  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  essentially  different  from  the  ordinary 
services  of  the  Church.  It  appeals  to  the  indif- 
ferent because  it  is  unique  in  its  character.  It 
commands  attention  because  men  have  become 
so  accustomed  to  the  stereotyped  service  of  the 
Church  that  they  may  be  unmoved  by  it ;  there 
are  thousands  of  people  who  will  never  be  saved 
except  in  the  special  meetings.  Why  then  be 
either  indifferent  or  opposed  to  it.  Would  not 
this  come  within  the  scope  of  Paul's  idea  when 
he  says,  "  If  by  all  means  I  might  save  some  "  ? 

20S 


204   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

No  one  could  contend  more  zealously  for  con- 
tinuity in  the  evangelistic  spirit  of  the  Church 
than  I  and  no  one  could  more  thoroughly  be- 
lieve in  the  possibility  of  an  ideal  evangelistic 
Church,  but  all  the  history  of  the  Church  from 
the  day  of  Pentecost  to  the  present  time  proves 
that,  "  The  Lord  Almighty  does  not  carry  for- 
ward the  growth  of  that  Kingdom  by  an  even 
and  gradual  expansion,  which  would  leave  it  to 
men  to  claim  the  glory  of  it.  It  advances  like  a 
river,  which  rarely  follows  far  a  straight  line,  which 
may,  for  long  distances,  be  troubled  and  turbid, 
but  suddenly  breaks  out  at  intervals  upon  its 
course  into  broad,  peaceful  expansions  or  lakes, 
surrounded  by  scenes  of  extraordinary  fertility 
and  beauty.  It  grows  upon  a  principle  Hke  that 
which  the  Creator  has  impressed  upon  many 
genera  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  —  grasses, 
canes,  trees — by  a  succession  of  nodes,  or  axes, 
or  joints  ;  points  where,  at  considerable  distances 
apart,  the  compressed  life  of  the  stem  breaks  out 
into  spreading  branches,  laden  with  foliage  and 
fruit.  The  Kingdom  of  God  has  thus  ever  in- 
creased by  a  succession  of  sudden  and  vigorous 
expansions,  whose  intervals  have  not  been  with- 
out regularity  or  plan.     It  is  one  of  those  great 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     205 

expansions  of  spiritual  life  which  seems  now  to 
be  at  hand." 

In  its  relation  to  the  Christian  it  is  equally 
valuable.  By  it  the  fallow  ground  is  broken  up 
and  those  who  have  grown  indifferent,  worldly, 
or  sinful  are  reclaimed,  and  by  the  ministry  of 
service  are  once  more  led  to  close  fellowship 
with  Christ.  By  it  men  are  often  discovered  to 
themselves,  too  timid  to  speak  or  work  in  the 
regular  meetings,  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  a 
gracious  awakening  they  discover  a  talent  for 
soul  winning  which  transforms  their  entire 
Christian  experience.  Blessed  as  may  be  the 
influence  of  the  special  service  in  behalf  of  the 
unsaved,  it  is  if  anything  even  more  beneficial  to 
him  who  seeks  to  be  a  channel  of  God's  grace 
for  the  lost. 

Men  plead  for  revivals  in  business,  in  litera- 
ture and  in  art,  why  should  we  not  pray,  plan 
and  work  for  a  revival  of  true  religion  in  the 
community. 

Let  no  man  delude  himself  with  the  thought 
that  because  his  own  Church  may  be  a  success 
and  his  obligations  to  his  own  people  have  been 
met  that  therefore  he  has  no  responsibility  for 
the  lost  of  the  city  or  town  where  he  may  live, 


2o6   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

who  because  either  of  prejudice  or  indifference 
may  be  unreached  by  his  Church. 

For  every  lost  individual  in  the  community 
every  Church  has  a  measure  of  responsibility 
from  which  it  cannot  be  freed  until  at  least 
every  legitimate  means  has  been  tried  for  his 
salvation. 

For  the  leadership  of  these  meetings  a  trained 
evangelist  need  not  of  necessity  be  called  though 
experience  in  the  past  would  as  a  rule  justify 
such  an  action  ;  why  should  this  not  be  true  if 
the  evangelist  is  a  man  of  God.  He  ought  to 
sustain  the  same  relation  to  the  Church  at  large 
as  a  specialist  in  the  medical  profession.  His 
study,  his  talents  and  his  experience  all  would 
fit  him  for  such  leadership. 

If  the  Church  would  give  him  his  rightful 
position  before  the  world,  give  him  her  support 
and  her  encouragement  in  his  labors,  a  con- 
secrated evangelist  with  a  message  would  be  an 
untold  blessing  to  any  community,  but  if  the 
evangelist  is  impossible  for  any  reason,  then  any 
pastor  called  to  preach  believing  God's  word, 
accepting  the  statement  therein,  made  that  with- 
out Christ  men  are  lost,  while  with  him  they 
may  be  saved,  relying  upon  the  Holy  Ghost  for 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     207 

power  and  having  a  love  for  souls  ought  to  be 
able  to  lead  the  campaign ;  if  he  is  not  then  there 
is  something  wrong  with  his  training,  his  experi- 
ence or  his  spirit. 

It  would  be  well  if  the  minister  who  finds 
himself  powerless  to  be  the  leader  of  such  a  work 
as  this  should  stop  and  ask  the  question  as  to 
whether  he  has  been  called  to  preach  at  all,  and 
if  called  whether  the  Church  has  fulfilled  her 
obligation  to  him  in  giving  him  the  proper  train- 
ing in  the  theological  seminary. 

Wherever  the  meetings  may  be  held  whether 
in  the  city  or  the  rural  district,  the  measure  of 
blessing  as  a  rule  is  the  thoroughness  of  the 
preparation.  More  meetings  have  been  unfruitful 
because  of  poor  preparation  than  for  any  other 
reason.  Many  an  evangelist  has  been  censured 
for  failure  when  the  responsibility  should  rather 
have  been  placed  at  the  door  of  those  who  were 
leaders  of  the  local  churches. 

Mr.  Moody  used  to  say  that  if  a  man  had  only 
ten  days  in  the  community  it  would  be  wise  to 
give  five  days  of  the  time  to  the  Church  and  five 
to  the  world.  This  is  a  true  statement  and  it  is 
as  sad  as  it  is  true.  However,  could  not  the 
preparation  be  made  before  the  special  meetings 


2o8    PRESENT-DAY  EVANGELISM 

begin.  This  in  many  instances  has  been  entirely 
possible.  I  once  had  an  invitation  in  a  Western 
city  to  conduct  a  series  of  meetings,  and  six 
weeks  before  the  meetings  began  there  was 
started  a  Union  Bible  Class  taught  by  the  several 
pastors ;  concerning  this  preparation  one  of  the 
pastors  has  written, "  Six  months  before  the  union 
meetings  there  was  started  a  Union  Bible  Class, 
taught  by  the  several  pastors.  We  followed  the 
Sunday-school  lessons,  in  order  to  arouse  and  enlist 
the  teachers  in  the  coming  campaign  and  prepare 
them  to  act  as  pioneers  in  this  aggressive  under- 
taking. This  study  of  the  Bible  brought  together 
some  of  our  best  equipped  Christians  and  made 
them  acquainted  with  each  other,  one  of  the  best 
of  meeting-places,  God's  word  for  God's  work. 
The  very  first  effort  to  prepare  ourselves  to  push 
forward  our  Church  work  was  to  quicken  and 
enlarge  our  faith,  to  awaken  our  expectations, 
and  to  stir  our  souls  to  go  out  in  search  of  the 
lost. 

♦*  We  then  went  to  work  to  see  what  we  could 
do  with  what  we  already  knew,  three  months 
before  the  evangelist  was  expected.  The  city 
was  divided  into  districts,  with  a  supervisor  over 
each   district.     From    fifteen   to  twenty  visitors 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     209 

were  assigned  to  each  supervisor,  who  were 
given  from  ten  to  fifteen  houses  to  look  after. 
The  visitors  went  as  friends,  not  as  canvassers. 
They  established  a  friendly  relation  with  the 
strangers  and  those  who  did  not  belong  to 
any  Church  and  with  the  poor  who  needed  help. 
They  came  together  occasionally  to  report  what 
they  had  done  and  seen.  The  result  was  a 
revelation.  A  state  of  spiritual  destitution  was 
uncovered  in  our  church  going  city,  which 
we  had  not  dreamed  of  and  could  scarcely 
believe.  But  in  discovering  the  destitution,  we 
found  that  we  had  broken  through  the  barriers 
that  had  blocked  the  way  to  reaching  and  reme- 
dying it.  Prejudice  began  to  melt  away  as  the 
outsiders  saw  us  interested  in  them.  The 
churches  sprang  to  the  rescue  in  hearty  coopera- 
tion. The  coming  union  meetings  became  the 
town  talk. 

"  Our  next  move  was  to  start  a  union  prayer- 
meeting  every  Sabbath  afternoon  in  one  of  the 
Churches,  and  a  neighborhood  meeting  in  each 
district  every  Friday  evening.  The  supervisors 
arranged  for  the  places  and  leaders  and  the 
visitors  invited  the  families  under  their  care. 
These  prayer-meetings  struck  at  once  the  foun- 


2IO   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

dation  of  all  our  preparation,  deep,  earnest, 
honest  praying.  The  result  was  the  beginning 
of  the  revival.  Families  that  never  spoke  to 
each  other  met  in  each  others'  houses  to  talk  of 
their  mutual  interests.  Church  members  who 
never  dared  to  speak  in  public,  sang  and  spoke 
freely  in  their  own  homes.  Our  prayer-meetings 
began  to  fill  up  and  to  speak  with  new  tongues. 
Our  Sabbath -schools  began  to  show  new  life. 
Our  Sabbath  congregations  became  recruiting 
stations,  rallying  points  for  active  service.  Con- 
versions followed  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
before  we  expected  it,  we  were  realizing  what  we 
believed,  that  God  waits  to  save."  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  in  that  particular  city  hundreds 
of  people  were  brought  to  Christ.  Suppose  the 
minister  should  begin  a  course  of  sermons  on 
such  themes  as  the  following : 

First :  "  The  need  of  an  awakening." 
Surely  there  is  abundant  material  on  every  hand 
to  make  the  preparation  of  this  sermon  very  easy. 

Second  :  "  Do  we  want  an  awakening  ? " 
It  would  be  only  necessary  for  him  to  tell 
his  people  what  a  real  revival  would  mean ;  it 
could  then  easily  be  decided  whether  it  was 
wanted  in  the  community. 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     211 

Third  :  "  What  hinders  an  awakening  ?  "  It 
can  easily  be  proven  that  the  indifference  of  the 
world  does  not  hinder  it,  the  sins  of  unregen- 
erated  men  cannot  hinder  it ;  this  ought  to  be  a 
solemn  service  because  as  a  matter  of  fact  only- 
God's  own  people  can  hinder  it.  Could  there  be 
any  other  result  than  that  which  would  mean 
the  uplifting  of  the  Church  and  the  winning 
of  many  souls.  Suppose  special  services  for 
prayer  be  called  in  the  homes,  in  the  shops, 
in  some  unoccupied  store  building  in  the  city,  or 
in  the  Church,  when  the  burden  of  the  prayer 
should  be,  "  Oh,  Lord,  revive  thy  work." 

Suppose  the  minister  or  his  Church  officers 
should  begin  after  the  manner  of  Paul,  to  go 
from  house  to  house  beseeching  men  to  be 
reconciled  to  God,  could  there  be  anything  less 
than  a  commotion  in  the  community  ?  I  know 
this  is  unusual  but  it  has  the  advantage  of  being 
a  scriptural  method  and  is  at  least  thoroughly  in 
harmony  with  our  belief  whether  consistent 
with  our  practice  or  not.  These  are  a  few  hints 
as  to  the  methods  of  preparation,  they  may 
be  multiplied  almost  indefinitely. 

There  is  one  danger  of  failure  in  such  work, 
however,  which  surmounts  all  others,  our  evan- 


212    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

gelistic  campaigns  are  too  brief.  This  is  the 
supreme  weakness  of  modern  evangelistic  effort. 
The  work  of  Finney  and  Moody  partook  rather 
of  the  nature  of  a  siege  than  the  cavalry  dash. 
Many  a  meeting  has  been  closed  when  it  really 
ought  to  be  just  beginning. 

Regarding  the  work  in  large  cities,  the  prob- 
lems which  confront  city  pastors  as  they  con- 
sider evangelistic  campaigns  are  almost  insur- 
mountable. 

The  busy  life  of  the  average  Christian  makes 
him  a  poor  subject  to  work  upon  for  a  great  for- 
ward movement. 

The  iniquity  of  the  city  unconsciously  to  the 
Church  member  lowers  his  spiritual  tone  and  he 
does  not  easily  respond  to  the  call  for  helpers. 
This  is  through  no  indifference  of  his  and 
certainly  because  of  no  opposition  to  the 
work. 

The  counter  attractions,  pleasurable,  ques- 
tionable or  sinful,  appeal  with  alluring  charms  to 
the  half-hearted  Christian,  while  he,  because  of 
these  things,  whether  consciously  or  not,  de- 
presses the  life  of  the  Church  and  hinders  the 
work  of  the  minister. 

The  story  of  Achan  and  the  defeat  at  Ai  have 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     213 

been  repeated  in  many  Churches  during  the  past 
few  years. 

If  the  campaign  proposed  is  to  be  union  in 
character  the  difficulties  are  only  multipHed  in 
the  city.  There  is  the  problem  of  securing  a 
leader  of  sufficient  reputation  to  command  a 
hearing,  and  unless  the  meetings  are  at  least 
commensurate  with  the  size  of  the  city  they  fail 
in  their  purpose. 

If  the  meetings  prove  successful  there  is  the 
problem,  of  securing  a  church  or  hall  sufficiently 
large  to  accommodate  the  people  who  ought  to 
come,  and  yet  as  a  matter  of  fact  no  speaker  can 
to  any  great  extent  move  with  power  a  much 
larger  audience  than  four  or  five  thousand  people. 
It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  as  a  rule  the  most 
feasible  way  to  move  a  large  city  with  all  evan- 
gelical denominations  cooperating  is  for  each 
Church,  or  possibly  each  denomination,  to  hold 
its  individual  services  in  the  evening  in  its  own 
way,  only  letting  it  be  known  that  these  services 
are  a  part  of  a  general  plan  in  operation  through- 
out the  city,  then  let  union  services  be  held  in 
the  morning,  at  noon  or  in  the  afternoon,  when 
all  the  Churches  are  federated  for  this  purpose. 
This  will   preserve  the  union  character  of  the 


214   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

effort  and  will  reach  by  far  the  larger  number  of 
people,  and  at  the  same  time  when  the  meetings 
are  over  each  individual  Church  will  be  in  a  bet- 
ter condition  spiritually  to  take  care  of  the  results. 

As  to  the  time  of  the  service  there  can  be  no 
better  time  in  the  city  than  the  lenten  season, 
and  while  this  may  be  questionable  possibly  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  are  not  Episcopalians, 
yet  all  must  agree  that  during  these  days  there  is 
less  attention  paid  to  social  obligations,  and 
people  as  a  rule  are  in  a  more  receptive  frame 
of  mind,  but  it  should  be  constantly  remembered 
that  God  is  not  confined  in  his  giving  to  times 
and  seasons.  The  fact  is  every  minister  must  be 
his  own  judge  as  to  the  time  when  it  seems  best 
to  enter  upon  a  forward  movement,  but  there  is 
one  thing  that  must  never  be  forgotten,  namely, 
that  the  special  meeting  is  a  means  to  an  end 
and  never  an  end  in  itself.  It  is  because  so 
many  have  looked  in  this  way  upon  the  evangel- 
istic service  that  the  after  effect  has  been  bad 
and  prejudice  against  revivals  has  grown  rapidly. 

In  the  smaller  cities  the  union  meeting  cannot 
be  too  strongly  commended.  If  the  principles 
of  the  present-day  evangelism  be  observed, 
namely  that  the  union  meeting  is  but  an  integral 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     215 

part  of  a  greater  plan^  and  if  a  carefully 
planned  campaign  be  inaugurated  which  would 
include  the  service  in  the  individual  Church,  the 
union  effort  and  the  return  to  the  several 
Churches  in  due  time,  all  this  having  been  dis- 
tinctly understood  by  pastor  and  people,  the 
benefits  would  be  lasting  as  eternity.  For  such 
work  the  preparation  must  be  carefully  made. 
The  suggestions  made  with  reference  to  the 
preparation  for  city  work  will  hold  with  equal 
force  in  connection  with  the  smaller  cities  and 
towns.  It  is  well  to  have  both  day  and  evening 
services,  the  former  may  be  moved  about  from 
Church  to  Church,  to  move  the  latter  is  fre- 
quently perilous  to  the  work.  For  the  former 
services  there  may  be  a  succession  of  speakers, 
if  the  pastors  alone  are  leading  the  meetings,  but 
for  the  latter  it  is  a  mistake  to  change  too  fre- 
quently. Very  few  men  can  accomplish  much 
in  this  work  in  less  than  a  week  and  a  longer 
time  is  greatly  to  be  desired. 

It  is  well  to  have  during  the  meeting  a  day  of 
fasting  and  prayer.  Sometimes  the  places  of 
business  may  be  closed  for  half  a  day  :  at  such  a 
time  as  this  the  impression  thus  made  upon  the 
community  is  profound. 


2i6   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

It  is  absolutely  essential  if  this  work  is  to  be 
crowned  with  success  that  those  inquiring  the 
way  of  life  should  be  immediately  called  upon 
by  the  pastor  if  possible,  if  not  then  by  some 
member  of  his  church  in  whose  good  sense  and 
consecrated  zeal  the  pastor  has  full  confidence. 
Failure  here  often  leaves  the  last  state  of  the 
man  worse  than  the  first.  A  typewritten  letter 
expressing  interest  in  the  one  whose  name  you 
may  have  will  not  answer.  To  wait  for  him  to 
seek  out  the  minister  is  often  fatal  to  his  conver- 
sion. Just  a  helpful  call  prompted  by  real 
interest  in  the  one  who  is  seeking,  a  brief 
prayer,  a  tender  exposition  of  the  Scripture  in 
which  may  be  found  the  way  of  salvation,  and 
an  impression  honestly  made  that  you  care  for 
the  soul  of  the  one  to  whom  you  go,  and  the 
results  will  be  all  that  could  be  desired. 

With  reference  to  the  work  in  the  smaller  towns 
and  the  rural  district.  It  would  hardly  seem 
at  first  thought  that  the  instructions  for  these 
two  fields  could  be  identical,  yet  if  you  eliminate 
the  distances  to  be  travelled  in  the  country  and 
the  fact  that  services  may  not  so  frequently  be 
held  and  must  as  a  rule  be  so  planned  as  to 
escape  the  busy  season  of  the  farmer  and  his 


EVANGELISTIC    MEETINGS     217 

household,  then  a  message  for  the  one  will 
apply  to  the  other.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
Church  should  be  either  large  or  prosperous  to 
claim  a  blessing  from  God.  Many  a  minister 
has  grown  discouraged  because  he  has  had  so 
few  people  in  his  Church  upon  whom  he  could 
depend  for  sympathy  in  an  evangelistic  effort, 
but  the  experience  of  Nehemiah  should  be  re- 
membered when  he  went  to  view  the  destruction 
of  the  City  of  Jerusalem  he  did  not  take  all  the 
inhabitants  with  him,  for  if  he  had  he  would  have 
made  a  fatal  mistake.  They  would  have  unan- 
imously decided  that  the  walls  could  not  be 
rebuilt  and  the  temple  could  not  be  reclaimed. 
There  is  a  significant  text  in  connection  with  his 
visit  which  is  found  in  Nehemiah  2  :  1 2,  "  I  and 
some  few  men  with  me."  When  Nehemiah 
with  this  little  company  following  him  beheld 
the  destruction  of  the  city  and  he  turned  to 
them  to  say,  "  Let  us  rebuild,"  his  enthusiasm 
awakened  a  quick  response  in  the  hearts  of  the 
others  and  they  in  turn  were  able  to  stir  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  in  a  little  time  all 
the  wall  was  joined  together,  for  the  people 
had  a  mind  to  work.  But  all  the  movement 
started  with  the  few.     There  ought  at  least  to  be 


2i8    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

found  in  each  Church  a  few  consecrated  Chris- 
tians, if  not  ten  then  five  and  if  there  should  be 
only  five  or  even  less  we  have  enough  to  start 
with.  If  the  minister's  heart  should  be  burdened 
for  the  lost  then  let  him  begin  with  earnest 
prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  the  spirit  of  God 
upon  the  people.  In  this  he  may  surely  expect 
hearty  assistance  from  his  chosen  few.  Let  him 
increase  the  circle  only  as  he  may  be  sure  of 
those  who  may  be  added  to  it,  and  then  let  him 
call  upon  them  to  make  some  such  effort  in  be- 
half of  the  unsaved.  It  may  be  only  an  over- 
sight of  some  one  who  is  still  away  from  Christ, 
it  may  be  only  special  assistance  given  in  the 
prayer  service,  or  it  may  be  that  they  shall 
simply  promise  to  join  their  prayers  in  his  be- 
half as  he  preaches  on  the  Lord's  Day.  With 
just  a  few  loyal  souls  pledged  to  the  minister  and 
to  God  a  work  of  grace  ought  to  be  possible 
in  any  community  however  small  or  however 
remote. 


CHAPTER  XX 

EVANGELISM    IN   TENTS 

In  many  of  our  larger  cities  practically  from 
the  first  of  June  to  the  first  of  October  there  is 
almost  a  complete  cessation  of  aggressive  church 
work.  The  problem  of  reaching  the  great 
masses  of  people  who  either  may  be  classed 
among  the  unchurched  and  yet  for  whom  we 
have  as  Christians  a  responsibility,  or  who  may 
be  members  of  the  church  and  yet  because  of 
the  fact  that  the  churches  are  •  doing  little 
aggressive  work  feel  a  sense  of  freedom  from 
personal  responsibility,  is  one  of  the  gravest 
questions  before  the  Church  to-day. 

The  vacations  in  the  cities  are  year  by  year  in- 
creasing in  length.  This  is  easily  understood 
when  we  remember  the  strenuous  Hfe  which  men 
must  live  if  they  are  in  a  successful  business  or 
profession,  but  to  neglect  those  who  are  called 
the  "  stay-at-homes,"  and  those  who  may  in  the 
summer  season  be  more  easily  reached  is  a  sin 
for  which  one  day  the  Church  will  be  called  to  a 
319 


220   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

strict  account.  Jesus'  command  to  his  disciples 
was  that  they  should  go  out  after  the  lost.  He 
was  himself  an  illustrious  example  of  a  seeking 
Saviour.  By  day  and  by  night  he  was  ever 
going  after  those  who  were  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd.  Present-day  evangelism  is  placing 
special  emphasis  upon  this  work. 

Aggressive  evangelistic  campaigns  may  be 
carried  on  throughout  the  entire  summer  either 
in  the  city  or  the  rural  districts,  but  of  course  the 
line  of  work  chosen  must  of  necessity  be  adapted 
to  the  community.  In  the  city  the  following 
services  may  easily  be  carried  on  : 

First :  Meetings  in  the  open  air  in  front  of 
the  Church  with  the  choir  assisting  the  minister 
and  a  sufficient  number  of  his  members  to  give 
him  confidence  and  encouragement.  Such  a 
service  could  be  conducted  at  least  a  half  hour 
before  the  regular  Sunday  evening  meeting  and 
the  crowds  attending  could  easily  be  drawn  into 
the  Church  service  for  an  after-meeting  or  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  theme  presented  on  the  street. 
At  least  four  of  the  ministers  in  New  York  have 
tried  this  plan  successfully. 

Second  :  Meetings  in  the  Park  on  Sunday  af- 
ternoons.    The  parks  are  thronged  with   both 


EVANGELISM    IN   TENTS         221 

young  and  old.  They  are  out  for  a  time  of  rest 
and  recreation,  and  an  attractive  song  service,  a 
pointed,  personal,  persuasive  appeal  could  not  fail 
to  interest  even  the  passer-by,  and  there  are 
many  instances  where  such  a  service  has  resulted 
in  complete  transformation  of  many  lives.  In 
Pittsburg  this  service  is  a  great  success. 

Third  :  Meetings  on  the  docks  if  the  city  be 
a  sea  board  town  or  be  located  on  a  river.  It  is 
usually  a  most  attractive  method  to  use  the 
stereopticon  in  such  services  interspersing  not 
only  songs  but  prayers  and  helpful  remarks.  In 
Philadelphia  this  plan  has  been  used  and  always 
with  profit. 

Fourth  :  Noonday  meetings  on  the  streets. 
In  Philadelphia  the  City  Hall  is  used  and  meet- 
ings are  also  held  in  front  of  Independence  Hall. 
Hundreds  of  people  are  in  attendance  and  al- 
ways with  the  very  greatest  amount  of  respect 
do  they  listen.  Following  some  services  after- 
meetings  have  been  held  in  the  city  buildings. 

In  the  rural  districts  such  services  as  the  fol- 
lowing have  been  profitably  conducted  during 
the  summer  months. 

First :  Meetings  on  the  lawn  of  the  Church, 
sometimes  in  the  late  afternoon  and  oftentimes 


222   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

in  the  early  evening  when  the  shadows  begin  to 
lengthen  and  impressions  upon  those  who  are  in 
attendance  are  most  easily  made. 

Second :  Services  in  the  squares  in  small 
towns  with  all  the  churches  uniting,  the  united 
choirs  being  present  and  all  the  ministers  speak- 
ing in  turn  from  evening  to  evening. 

Third :  Meetings  held  on  the  fair  grounds 
when  the  grand  stand  could  be  used  as  an  amphi- 
theatre. In  some  places  a  great  crowd  of  people 
could  thus  be  addressed ;  the  novelty  of  the  situ- 
ation is  not  without  its  impression  and  people 
have  been  drawn  from  miles  around  to  attend 
such  a  service  who  never  would  think  of  darken- 
ing the  doors  of  a  church.  In  the  summer  work 
as  in  the  regular  service  of  the  Church,  it  is 
the  unusual  that  attracts  attention  and  if  with 
this  unusual  service  there  is  an  interesting  pro- 
gram of  music  and  a  helpful,  brief  sermon  there 
can  be  only  blessing  attending  the  work. 

"  There  is  abundant  endorsement  of  this  open 
air  work.  Ezra's  pulpit  of  wood  was  erected  in 
the  open  air.  Christ  taught  more  on  the  moun- 
tainside and  the  seashore  than  he  did  in  the 
synagogue  or  in  the  upper  room.  Paul  was  an 
open  air  preacher.     Whether  on  Mars  Hill  or 


EVANGELISM   IN  TENTS         223 

in  the  market-place,  he  preached  where  the  peo- 
ple thronged.  Wickliff 's  poor  priests  preached 
almost  exclusively  in  the  open  air.  Peter 
Waldo  and  his  associates  were  open  air 
preachers.  John  Huss  began  the  Bohemian 
Reformation  in  open  air  services.  John  Living- 
ston's great  sermon,  which  led  to  the  conversion 
of  five  hundred  Scotchmen,  was  preached  in  a 
storm  in  the  open  air.  George  Whitfield's  open 
air  preaching  at  the  Kingswood  Colliery  was  at- 
tended by  thousands.  When  he  went  to  Lon- 
don he  was  urged  to  preach  in  some  church  or 
hall;  it  would  be  more  dignified  and  more 
seemly;  but  he  says  he  was  controlled  by  an 
overwhelming  passion  to  preach  in  the  open  air, 
and  so  on  Moorsfield  he  preached  the  Gospel  to 
thousands.  John  Wesley  was  at  first  opposed  to 
open  air  preaching,  fearing  that  it  might  bring 
the  movement  which  he  led  into  disrepute,  but 
when  he  realized  the  results  which  attended  such 
services  he  became  an  open  air  preacher." 

Perhaps,  however,  the  most  popular  service 
both  in  the  city  and  in  the  country  during  the 
past  three  years  has  been  the  tent  service.  This 
has  been  tried  in  many  of  our  cities  and  towns 
and  has  been  found  to  be  not  only  attractive  but 


224   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

an  effective  way  of  doing  good.  Summer  tent 
services  have  been  held  in  many  of  our  large 
cities,  notably  Philadelphia  and  St.  Louis,  and  the 
number  of  cities  planning  for  this  work  in  the 
future  is  largely  on  the  increase  each  year.  Mul- 
titudes who  would  never  enter  a  church  attend 
such  meetings. 

The  following  is  the  estimate  of  the  cost  per 
week  of  a  tent  service  based  on  the  experience 
of  the  workers  in  Philadelphia. 


«« Rent  of  one  tent,  per  week  for  the  season  .    .  $10.00 

Janitor,  per  week 9.00 

Rental  of  chairs,  per  week 10.00 

Lights,  per  week 5.00 

Moving  tent 5.00 

Printing,  advertising,  etc 10.00 

Evangelistic  and  musical  services  (average) 

per  week 70.00.' 


Mr.  John  H.  Converse  suggests  that  the  money 
necessary  for  such  evangelistic  services  be  se- 
cured by  contributions  from  those  willing  to  aid 
in  the  work,  and  not  from  church  collections.  It 
is  also  suggested,  that,  if  possible,  no  collections 
be  taken  in  the  tents.  Committees  should  be 
organized  of  ministers  and  laymen  from  the 
churches  in  the  vicinity  of  the  proposed  work, 
and  the  selection  of  preachers,  the  location  of 
tents,  and  the  management  of  the  work  gener- 


EVANGELISM   IN   TENTS         225 

ally,  should  be  committed  to  the  charge  of  such 
committees. 

The  tents  should  always  be  located  at  some 
central  point  in  the  city  or  town,  a  place  easily 
reached  by  the  street  railway  or  by  those  who 
might  desire  to  attend  from  a  distance.  I  know 
of  no  more  effective  way  of  extending  the 
bounds  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  than  by  the 
adoption  of  the  plan  which  for  three  years  has 
been  in  operation  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
Concerning  this  work,  the  secretary,  Mr.  James 
B.  Ely  has  written,  "  During  last  summer  there 
was  an  average  of  fifty  meetings  held  each  week. 
Ten  children's  meetings  were  held  weekly. 
About  fifteen  thousand  was  the  aggregate  at- 
tendance every  week.  An  aggregate  of  fully 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  was 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  di- 
rectly during  the  summer.  Christian  workers 
have  testified  to  the  stimulus  they  themselves 
have  received  through  the  work.  Fully  six  hun- 
dred of  those  who  professed  conversion  were 
visited  personally  by  helpers.  Many,  in  addition 
to  these,  accepted  Jesus  Christ  as  their  personal 
Saviour.  In  certain  sections,  policemen  joined 
with  many  others  in  testifying  to  the  good  effect 


226   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

of  the  meetings  on  the  community  as  a  whole." 
The  chairman  of  the  Philadelphia  committee 
has  said,  "  The  tent  services  for  the  past  three 
years  have  been  instrumental  in  founding  new 
churches.  Undoubtedly  much  may  be  accom- 
plished in  this  direction." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

EVANGELISM  FOR  THE  OUTCAST 

No  discussion  of  present-day  evangelism  would 
be  complete  without  reference  is  made  to  the 
work  which  is  being  carried  on  in  the  special 
interests  of  those  who  are  called  the  outcasts  of 
society.  Too  much  praise  and  honor  cannot  be 
given  to  the  Salvation  Army,  the  Volunteeers, 
and  the  Rescue  Mission  workers.  This  is  not 
the  place  even  to  give  a  brief  history  of  this 
work  and  the  workers,  but  there  is  one  mission 
which  is  in  every  way  unique  and  should  therefore 
be  mentioned.  It  is  unique  in  its  beginning,  in  the 
character  of  men  it  wins  to  Christ ;  unique  in  its 
present  leadership.  Mr.  S.  H.  Hadley,  its 
superintendent,  is  a  man  of  God  and  walks  the 
streets  of  the  city  of  New  York  much  I  believe 
as  Jesus  would  do  if  he  were  here.  It  is  known 
as  the  Jerry  McAuley  Water  Street  Mission  and 
is  situated  at  316  Water  Street,  New  York  City. 

First  of  all  then,  its  beginning  was  unique. 

**  'John  Allen,  the  wickedest  man  in  New 
227 


228    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

York,  kept  a  saloon  and  dance-house  in  Water 
Street,  two  doors  from  the  site  of  this  mission. 
In  a  dare-devil  spirit  he  asked  some  missionaries, 
as  they  passed  along  one  Sunday  afternoon  in 
1 868,  to  come  in  and  hold  a  prayer-meeting  in 
his  saloon.  They  consented,  if  he  would  shut 
up  his  bar,  which  he  did,  and  in  this  strange 
place  for  a  gospel  service,  praise  and  prayer  and 
testimony  for  a  little  time  displaced  drunkenness, 
profanity,  and  lust.  Allen's  drunken  fun  led  to 
serious  business,  for  the  invitation  was  soberly 
repeated,  and  the  saloon  was  packed  the  next 
Sunday,  and  many  could  not  get  inside.  New 
Yorkers  will  not  forget  the  wild  excitement  which 
is  forever  linked  with  John  Allen's  name,  from 
this  remarkable  invasion  of  his  premises  by  the 
gospel  of  grace.  Up  to  this  time  the  Water 
Street  neighborhood  was  a  gateway  of  hell,  nay, 
one  long  row  of  "  dives  "  and  "  dance-halls," 
where  almost  every  door  led  down  to  the  devil's 
headquarters.  Kit  Burns'  rat -pit  was  but  a  block 
away,  where  "  Jack,  the  rat,"  bit  off  rats'  heads 
for  the  entertainment  of  sightseers  ! 

This  open  door  at  Allen's  saloon  led  to  further 
attempts  to  enter  this  highway  to  perdition.  A 
missionary,  Mr.  Little  by  name,  while  mounting 


FOR   THE    OUTCAST 


229 


a  stairway  found  a  gigantic  amazon  disputing 
his  advance.  "  Madam,"  said  he,  offering  a  tract, 
"  do  you  know  Jesus  ? "  "  Faith,  and  who  is 
he?"  was  the  answer.  A  few  feet  away,  and 
within  a  door  that  stood  ajar  lay  Jerry  McAuley 
— drunk.  He  had  been  converted  at  Sing  Sing 
Prison  by  hearing  "  Awful "  (Orville)  Gardner, 
the  famous  prize-fighter,  give  his  testimony  in 
the  prison  chapel.  Jerry  had  known  him  well 
before  the  grace  of  God  touched  him,  and  he 
could  not  resist  such  witness  to  the  power  of 
God.  It  resulted  in  such  a  change  of  life  in  him- 
self that  Governor  Dix  pardoned  him  and  set 
him  free.  But  the  ex-convict  found  even  divine 
pardon  was  not  social  restoration,  and  for  lack 
of  a  helping  hand,  he  fell  back  into  evil  ways. 
The  mention  of  that  magic  name,  "  Jesus,"  even 
in  a  drunkard's  ear,  proved  mighty  to  recover 
the  backslider,  whom  it  had  saved  as  the  outcast 
sinner.  Jerry  leaped  to  his  feet,  and  his  whole 
attire  and  appearance  helping  to  render  him 
frightful,  he  ran  after  the  fleeing  missionary,  ask- 
ing :  "  What  name  was  that  you  mentioned  to 
that  woman  ?  "  The  missionary  thought  he  was 
confronting  another  belligerent  fellow  worse  than 
the  amazon,  but  Jerry  continued,  "  I  used  to  love 


230   PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

that  name  in  prison  long  ago  but  I  lost  him.  I 
wish  I  knew  where  to  find  him  again  ! " 

Mr.  Little  got  him  to  sign  the  pledge,  but  he 
soon  broke  it,  and  was  again  on  the  road  to 
crime  when  again  he  met  the  missionary. 
"  Jerry,  where  are  you  going  ? "  "I  can't 
starve,"  was  the  sullen  answer.  "  I  will  pawn  my 
coat  for  you,  Jerry,  before  1  will  see  you  steal." 
A  glance  at  the  coat,  which  would  not  have 
brought  a  half  dollar  at  a  pawn  shop,  gave  Jerry 
McAuley  a  glimpse  into  the  unselfishness  of  love, 
and  he  said,  "  If  you  love  me  that  way,  I'll  die 
before  I  steal."  Mr.  Little  gave  him  that  prom- 
ise of  God  to  live  by  and  live  on,  which  has  sus- 
tained many  a  sinking  soul :  "  Seek  ye  first  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all 
these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  He  said, 
"  I'll  take  it,"  and  that  very  night  he  parted  from 
his  companion  in  thievery.  Even  yet,  his  back- 
sliding was  only  in  part  arrested,  until  he  sacri- 
ficed his  last  idol,  tobacco,  and  after  that  he 
never  fell  again.  Four  years  later,  he  began  the 
Water  Street  work. ' '  ^ 

There  are  three  principles  which  hold  in 
Rescue  Mission  work  which  must  also  be  ob- 
served in  every  form  of  evangelistic  effort. 

^  Forward  Movements  of  the  Last  Half  Century. 


FOR   THE   OUTCAST  231 

First :  These  missionaries  have  a  passion  for 
souls.  I  have  never  seen  such  devotion  to  any 
class  of  people  as  they  show  to  the  down- 
trodden and  the  outcasts  of  society.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  more  a  man  had  sinned,  the 
farther  away  he  had  wandered  from  God,  the 
more  disgusting  he  was  in  his  appearance,  the 
more  they  loved  him,  and  I  have  never  seen 
such  joy  on  a  human  countenance  as  I  have 
again  and  again  seen  upon  the  faces  of  these 
mission  workers  when  they  have  had  the  joy  of 
knowing  that  the  lost  have  been  found  and  the 
soul  had  been  saved.  In  proportion  as  we  enter 
into  this  spirit  in  the  Church  God  will  bless  us 
in  our  work. 

Second  :  They  have  a  real  love  for  men.  It 
is  no  ordinary  personal  invitation  which  is  given 
from  a  platform  of  a  Rescue  Mission  station,  it  is 
such  an  invitation  as  a  father  would  give  to  his 
son  or  a  mother  to  her  child.  No  evangelistic 
effort  has  ever  been  successful  yet  without  there 
has  been  at  least  a  measure  of  this  deep  affection. 
Mere  stereotyped  services  or  professional  en- 
treaties will  not  do,  they  are  like  the  sounding 
brass  and  the  tinkling  cymbal. 

Third :     These  Rescue  missionaries  never  give 


232   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

a  man  up.  It  may  be  that  he  may  fall  a  dozen 
times,  but  somehow  the  more  he  falls  the  more 
they  seek  him.  There  is  a  text  in  Isaiah,  the 
thirty-eighth  chapter  and  the  seventeenth  verse, 
which  reads,  "  Thou  hast  in  mercy  delivered  my 
soul  from  the  pit,"  and  literally  it  is,  "  Thou  hast 
in  mercy  loved  up  my  soul  from  the  pit." 

Some  years  ago  a  poor  fallen  girl  found  her 
way  into  a  Salvation  Army  meeting.  She 
listened  indifferently,  if  indeed  she  listened  at  all, 
to  the  pleadings  of  the  missionary ;  the  singing 
did  not  move  her,  the  preaching  and  praying  she 
evidently  cared  nothing  for.  At  last  the  woman 
who  was  speaking  came  down  through  the  crowd, 
and  stooping  down  she  took  the  face  of  the  poor 
fallen  girl  in  her  hands,  bent  over  and  kissed  her, 
first  upon  one  cheek  and  then  upon  the  other, 
saying  as  she  did  so,  "  My  poor  child,  I  would  to 
God  I  could  love  you  into  the  Kingdom."  What 
the  sermon  could  not  do  and  what  the  hymn  had 
failed  to  accomplish,  the  touch  of  affection  made 
possible.  She  rose  to  her  feet  and  staggered  to 
the  penitent  form,  rose  up  saved  and  is  a  Sal- 
vation Army  officer  to-day. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

CARING   FOR   RESULTS 

The  failure  of  many  an  evangelistic  campaign 
is  to  be  found  just  here ;  it  is  comparatively  easy 
at  the  time  of  a  special  service  to  impress  men 
with  their  need  of  Christ  and  to  bring  them  to 
the  position  where  they  may  express  at  least 
some  slight  interest  in  their  soul's  salvation,  but 
if  no  supplementary  work  is  done,  then  the  last 
condition  of  the  man  is  hable  to  be  worse  than 
the  first.  The  Gospel  is  a  savor  of  life  unto  life 
or  death  unto  death  ;  the  same  sun  which  strikes 
upon  the  clay  and  hardens  it  touches  the  ice  and 
melts  it.  The  hardening  or  the  softening  process 
is  going  on  in  every  evangelistic  campaign  and 
in  every  preaching  service. 

In  an  Eastern  city  not  long  ago  eighty-six 
people  expressed  a  desire  to  know  Christ. 
Twelve  of  these  only  joined  the  Church ;  beyond 
all  question  the  responsibility  for  the  failure  to 
win  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  inquirers  was  to 
233 


234   PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

be  laid  at  the  door  of  the  minister  and  those 
associated  with  him. 

In  a  Western  city  more  than  twelve  hundred 
people  publicly  professed  their  faith  in  Christ. 
They  did  this  not  by  signing  cards  nor  by  stand- 
ing upon  their  feet,  but  by  walking  to  the  front 
of  the  church,  facing  the  congregation  and  by 
word  of  mouth  declared  that  from  this  time  on 
they  would  serve  Christ  faithfully.  Not  twenty 
per  cent,  of  these  were  received  into  the  Church. 
The  responsibility  for  allowing  many  of  them  to 
slip  away  must  lie  at  some  one's  door ;  as  a  matter 
of  fact  is  it  not  at  the  door  of  the  officers  of  the 
Church  and  those  who  are  already  Christians  ?  It 
ought  always  to  be  remembered  that  in  the  time 
of  an  awakening,  or  in  the  regular  life  of  the 
Church,  the  new  members  will  always  strike  the 
level  of  the  older  members  of  the  Church.  If  the 
Church  is  worldly  they  will  become  worldly,  if  it 
is  given  to  questionable  amusements  they  will 
follow  in  the  same  path,  but  if  it  is  spiritual  they 
will  just  as  truly  become  spiritual.  The  criticism 
that  people  coming  into  the  Church  in  a  time  of 
revival  are  not  as  substantial  converts  as  those 
who  come  in  the  ordinary  services  of  the  Church 
will  not  hold.     If  they  are  not,  the  fault  is  to  be 


CARING   FOR   RESULTS  235 

found  in  the  Church  and  not  in  the  new  member. 
The  principle  of  present-day  evangelism  will  off- 
set much  of  the  criticism  which  has  in  the  past 
been  offered  against  revivals.  These  principles 
again  stated  are  as  follows  : 

The  special  meeting  is  not  an  end  but  a  means 
to  an  end.  The  winning  of  souls  does  not 
simply  rest  upon  the  evangelist  as  an  obligation 
but  upon  the  pastor,  the  Church  officer,  the 
Church  member.  Generally  it  is  impossible  for 
one  to  become  interested  in  the  winning  of  his 
friends  to  Christ  and  then  drift  back  again  into 
an  indifferent  worldly  manner  of  living.  There 
are  several  ways  of  caring  for  the  results  of  an 
evangelistic  effort. 

First :  Let  every  seeking  one  be  immediately 
visited  by  the  pastor  or  his  helpers  upon  whom 
he  may  be  able  to  depend. 

Second  :  At  the  very  first  opportunity  in  the 
regular  services  of  the  Church  bring  the  one  who 
may  have  taken  a  slight  stand  for  Christ  to  the 
place  of  full  surrender.  Let  him  rise  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  people  and  proclaim  his  allegiance  to 
his  Saviour. 

Third :  Form  the  new  converts  into  special 
classes  and  teach  them  not  only  methods  of  work 


236    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELIST 

but  how  to  study  the  Bible,  for  not  only  is  the 
word  of  God  the  ground  of  our  assurance  but 
the  knowledge  of  the  word  of  God  is  the  secret 
of  a  successful  Christian  experience.  None  of 
us  would  be  able  to  stand  were  it  not  for  the 
strength  imparted  to  us  by  this  old  book  which 
God  has  sent  to  us  as  his  special  message. 

Fourth :  Give  the  one  who  has  recently  come 
to  Christ  some  special  work  to  do.  It  may  be 
simply  the  passing  out  of  a  card  of  invitation  or 
the  carrying  of  a  message  to  some  one  in  whom 
the  pastor  may  be  interested.  Let  it  always  be 
remembered  that  the  moment  one  begins  to 
work  for  Christ  he  begins  to  have  added  interest 
not  only  in  Christ  but  in  all  those  for  whom 
Christ  died.  The  fact  is  that  the  Church  is  not 
careful  enough  in  caring  for  her  own.  At  the 
first  sign  of  indifference,  at  the  first  indication 
of  wandering,  at  the  first  evidence  of  breaking 
away  from  Christ  and  the  Church,  we  should  go 
after  them  remembering  God's  message  to  us, 
"  Brethren,  if  a  man  be  overtaken  with  a  fault,  ye 
which  are  spiritual  restore  such  an  one  in  the 
spirit  of  meekness,  considering  thyself  lest  thou 
also  be  tempted."  It  does  not  say  that  those 
who  are  critical  should  go  after  them,  nor  those 


CARING   FOR   RESULTS  237 

who  are  censorious,  but  those  who  are  spiritual. 
Many  a  wandering  one  would  be  reclaimed  if 
sought  in  this  way.  "  I  once  heard  a  minister  say 
that  many  of  the  lost  sheep  of  our  own  house- 
holds were  to  be  found  in  the  slums  of  the  city, 
or  in  other  words  that  many  of  those  who  were 
in  the  slums  of  the  city  to-day  once  belonged 
either  to  a  Christian  Church,  a  Sunday-school  or 
were  members  of  a  Christian  household,  and  I 
heard  this  statement  vigorously  denied.  I 
determined  myself  to  investigate,  and  I  went 
through  the  slums  of  Philadelphia.  The  vilest 
woman  I  have  ever  seen  told  me  with  an  oath 
that  she  was  once  a  member  of  my  own  Sunday- 
school  years  ago  when  she  was  but  a  child. 
One  of  the  most  degraded  men  I  have  ever 
looked  upon  told  me  that  he  lived  within  a  block 
of  the  Church  of  which  I  was  then  the  pastor,  an 
inmate  of  a  Christian  household,  and  I  say  it 
with  considerable  shame  that  I  did  not  see  a  lost 
man  or  a  fallen  woman  that  night  that  I  did  not 
find,  that  at  one  time  or  another  they  had  been 
in  touch  with  the  Church,  the  Sunday-school,  the 
Young  Peoples'  Societies  or  a  Christian  home, 
and  yet  had  been  allowed  to  drift  away  until 
now  their  case  seemed  to  be  hopeless  and  they 


238    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

were  of  all  persons  most  miserable.  If  the 
Church  simply  had  her  own  to-day  almost  every 
individual  Church  in  the  land  would  have  to  tear 
down  her  buildings  and  build  larger." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CONCLUSION 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  in  the 
Church  to-day  a  great  amount  of  indifference ; 
first  to  the  claims  of  Christ  and  in  some  quarters 
an  increasing  indifference  to  the  claims  which 
people  of  the  world  have  upon  those  of  us  who 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ  as  a  Saviour. 

I  cannot  imagine  Noah  sitting  down  in  the 
ark  with  his  wife  and  saying,  "  Here  we  are  safe 
and  our  two  boys  are  out  on  the  hills  lost,"  and 
yet  if  many  Christians  should  take  a  census  of 
their  households  they  would  find  that  while  the 
father  and  mother  and  possibly  one  child  may 
be  in  Christ,  yet  the  others  are  away  from  him 
and  therefore  according  to  the  Scriptures  lost. 
How  any  one  can  allow  the  day  to  pass  by  with- 
out a  special  effort  in  behalf  of  these  is  incon- 
ceivable. It  would  seem  that  we  would  almost 
be  afraid  to  close  our  eyes  in  sleep  for  fear  the 
morning  would  bring  to  us  the  fact  that  Eternity 
was  upon  our  loved  ones  and  they  had  neglected 
239 


240    PRESENT-DAY    EVANGELISM 

the  acceptance  of  Christ  too  long.  It  is  also 
true  that  there  is  a  great  amount  of  worldliness  in 
the  Church  and  this  in  the  face  of  the  command 
of  God  who  said,  "  Come  out  from  among  them 
and  be  ye  separate  and  touch  not  the  unclean 
thing." 

In  a  Western  city  a  mother  once  came  to  me 
to  ask  me  to  pray  for  her  boy.  When  she  had  de- 
parted her  minister  told  me  that  it  would  really 
be  useless.  At  his  suggestion  I  went  to  visit  the 
mother  and  heard  from  her  lips  the  sad  story  that 
three  years  before  her  boy  had  entered  her 
presence  to  ask  her  to  go  with  him  to  a  special 
service  in  the  Church,  for  he  was  deeply  in- 
terested. She  declined  to  go  on  the  ground  of 
a  previous  engagement,  and  her  boy  learned 
that  the  engagement  was  at  least  to  be  a  ques- 
tionable, if  not  a  sinful  thing.  He  became 
embittered,  did  not  attend  the  church  himself 
and  for  three  years  had  refused  to  go.  At  this 
time  the  mother  wrote  a  letter  saying,  "  I  want 
to  tell  you,  my  boy,  a  story  of  your  baby  days. 
Your  father  insisted  that  you  should  sleep  alone. 
I  put  you  in  your  crib  and  you  cried  yourself  to 
sleep.  The  first  thing  in  the  morning  I  saw  you 
with  your  little  face  pressed  up  against  the  bars 


CONCLUSION  241 

of  your  crib  and  your  little  hands  reaching  out 
after  me.  Now,"  she  said,  "  the  picture  is 
changed  and  it  is  your  mother  with  her  white 
face  pressed  against  the  bars  and  her  hands 
reaching  out  after  you."  He  read  the  letter  but 
refused  to  enter  the  Church  and  so  far  as  I  know 
is  still  indifferent  and  unsaved. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  worldliness 
of  those  who  are  themselves  children  of  God  has 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  salvation  of  many  a 
soul. 

It  is  also  true  that  there  is  a  great  amount  of 
skepticism  in  the  Church.  Skepticism  concern- 
ing the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  and  the  Divinity 
of  Christ,  the  necessity  of  his  acceptance  in 
order  to  be  saved  and  also  the  necessity  for  be- 
lief in  what  is  known  as  the  scriptural  idea  of 
the  atonement.  Some  of  this  is  honest  skepti- 
cism, some  of  it  is  due  to  inconsistent  living,  and 
doubts  are  but  symptoms  of  a  deeper  disease, 
but  a  portion  of  it  is  also  due  to  the  discussion 
which  has  been  carried  on  in  these  past  months 
concerning  the  inspiration  of  the  Scripture  and 
the  authorit}^  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  because 
of  this  discussion  men  who  have  not  studied  for 
themselves  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 


242    PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

old  doctrines  have  become  almost  obselete  and 
much  of  the  Bible  is  to  be  treated  only  as  an 
ordinary  book  of  history. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  an  increasing 
amount  of  sin  in  the  world  and  that  ungodly 
living  is  in  certain  quarters  greatly  on  the  in- 
crease. One  has  only  to  walk  the  streets  of  the 
city  to  see  on  every  side  of  him  evidences  of 
iniquity  positively  appalling,  he  has  only  to 
study  the  social  conditions  of  the  poor  to  under- 
stand that  the  teachings  of  Jesus  are  being 
absolutely  disregarded  and  that  in  many  quarters 
the  rich  are  growing  richer  at  the  expense  of  the 
down-trodden  poor.  He  has  only  to  study  the 
homes  of  the  rich  to  realize  on  the  one  side  that 
while  there  is  no  such  picture  of  devotion  to 
Christ  presented  anywhere  as  in  many  of  the 
homes  where  wealth  abounds,  yet  at  the  same 
time  in  other  homes  of  wealth  there  is  a  condi- 
tion of  affairs  to-day  which  is  positively  shock- 
ing. 

The  murder  of  a  man  in  one  of  our  Eastern 
cities  the  other  day  emphasizes  this  point  be- 
cause he  mingled  in  such  circles  as  have  been 
described.  One  of  the  city  pastors  in  speaking 
of  the   condition    of  society  which  made  this 


CONCLUSION  243 

murder  possible  said, "  Recent  events  in  our  city 
have  revealed  the  gay,  irreligious  life  which 
many  of  our  more  prosperous  people  live. 
There  is  a  growing  godlessness  among  many 
well-to-do  persons.  The  type  of  depravity 
among  persons  in  the  higher  circles  is  often 
worse  than  in  the  slums  of  the  city.  This  gay, 
godless  way  of  living  often  manifests  itself  in 
what  is  spoken  of  as  club  life. 

"  America  is  fast  following  in  the  steps  of  the 
old  Roman  empire.  The  home  is  despised,  chil- 
dren are  an  incumbrance,  a  poodle  dog  is  of 
more  value  than  a  baby.  Wealth  and  pride 
consume  the  lifeblood  of  the  nation  and  aristo- 
cratic weaknesses  sap  our  democratic  vigor." 
And  yet  in  the  presence  of  all  these  discourage- 
ments, we  confidently  believe  that  the  skies  are 
brightening  and  that  there  is  the  eissurance  of 
the  dawning  of  a  new  day. 

There  is  an  increasing  number  in  the  Church 
too  longing  for  better  things.  There  is  a  great 
volume  of  prayer  ascending  to  God  in  behalf  of 
the  unsaved.  Some  one  has  said  when  God 
would  draw  out  all  the  beauty  and  strength  of  a 
woman's  nature  he  lays  a  helpless  babe  upon  her 
breast,  and  when  he  would  arouse  the  Church  so 


244   PRESENT-DAY   EVANGELISM 

that  she  might  put  on  her  garments  of  beauty 
and  hoUness  he  puts  upon  her  some  concern  for 
the  unsaved.  That  this  concern  is  on  the  in- 
crease we  confidently  beHeve. 

There  is  a  great  conviction  that  not  only  is  an 
awakening  needed  but  that  it  is  coming,  indeed 
the  first  droppings  of  the  shower  are  already 
upon  us. 

Present-day  evangelism  is  simply  the  spirit 
of  Paul  who  when  he  was  chained  to  a  Roman 
soldier  lost  no  opportunity  to  tell  each  new 
guard  the  story  of  his  conversion  and  the  power 
of  his  Saviour.  This  guard  in  turn  told  the 
story  to  others  who  listened  reverently  and  in  a 
little  while  simply  because  each  individual  had 
spoken  to  another  the  story  of  the  Gcspel  was 
known  throughout  the  whole  country. 

Present-day  evangelism  is  just  parents  seek- 
ing for  their  children,  friends  laboring  in  behalf 
of  friends,  business  men  possessed  of  some 
concern  for  their  business  associates,  and  every 
Christian  being  consistent  in  the  presentation  of 
Christ  to  a  lost  and  dying  world.  Whatever 
may  be  the  condition  of  the  individual  here  and 
there  or  of  the  individual  Church,  God  will 
surely  win  a  victory.     He  never  yet  has  been  de- 


CONCLUSION  245 

feated  and  he  will  not  begin  with  this  genera- 
tion. 

The  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest.  The 
call  of  the  great  head  of  the  Church  is  for 
reapers.  On  all  sides  of  us  the  people  are  hope- 
less and  helpless.  From  Heaven  and  earth  the 
summons  comes  to  us.  May  we  never  be  found 
indifferent  to  the  call. 

"  I  dare  not  idle  stand. 
While  upon  every  hand 

The  whitening  fields  proclaim  the  harvest  near ; 
A  gleaner  I  would  be, 
Gathering,  dear  Lord,  for  thee, 

Lest  I  with  empty  hand  at  last  appear. 

"  I  dare  not  idle  stand. 

While  on  the  shifting  sand, 
The  ocean  casts  bright  treasures  at  my  feet ; 

Beneath  some  shell's  rough  side 

The  tinted  pearl  may  hide. 
And  I  with  precious  gift  my  Lord  may  meet. 

"  I  dare  not  idle  stand. 

While  over  all  the  land 
Poor,  wandering  souls  need  humble  help  like  mine ; 

Brighter  than  brightest  gem 

In  monarch's  diadem, 
Each  soul  a  star  in  Jesus'  crown  may  shine. 

« I  dare  not  idle  stand, 

But  at  my  Lord's  command, 
Labor  for  him  throughout  my  life's  short  day ; 

Evening  will  come  at  last, 

Day's  labor  all  be  passed. 
And  rest  eternal  my  brief  toil  repay." 


The  Story  of  the  Churches 

THE 
PRESBYTERIANS 

BY 

Charles  L.Thompson,  D.D. 

Secretary  of  ike  Board  of  Home  Missions  oftht 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 

States  of  America 

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Charles  L.  Thompson  has  held  this  position 
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Dr.  Vedder  is  an  authority  on  American  Church 
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LEAVENING    THE 
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try, was  granted  by  his  Board  a  leave  of 
absence  in  which  to  prepare  a  careful  non- 
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THE  NEXT  GREAT 
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There  were  great  religious  awakenings  in  the  six- 
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a  neglected  scriptural  truth  or  truths,  which 
were  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
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RECOLLECTIONS 
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AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

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Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler.  D.D.,  LL.D. 

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most  famous  personages  at  home  and  abroad. 
His  early  life,  his  travels,  his  association  with 
the  great  writers,  statesmen,  temperance  work- 
ers, revivalists  and  soldiers,  his  anecdotes  of 
these  men,  and  his  account  of  his  home  life  and 
church  work  are  told  in  this  fascinating  life 
story. 

Dr.  Cuyler's  religious  books,  including  "God's 
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and  translated  into  several  languages. 

His  style  is  full  of  vigor  and  life,  while  his  keen 
wit  and  thorough  appreciation  of  the  humorous 
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HELP    AND    GOOD 
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"  God's  Light  on  Dark  Clouds  "  and  "  The  Empty 
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This  new  volume  is  doubly  interesting  because  it 
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THE  TIMES   AND 
YOUNG   MEN 


By  Rev.  Josiah  Strong,  D.D., 

Author  of  ''Our    Country;'  ''Religious  Movemtnts 

for  Social  Betterment y** 

**  Twentieth-Century  City,"  "£x/>ansion,"  €i€, 

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shows  what  were  the  causes  of  these  changes,  and 
points  out  the  results  which  have  flowed  from  them 
already,  together  with  established  tendencies  which  are 
prophetic  of  future  changes,  thus  interpreting  the  times 
in  which  we  live. 

He  discusses  the  great  social  laws  which  must  ba  obeyed 
if  social  ills  are  to  cease,  and  enables  the  young  man  to 
make  a  practical  application  of  these  laws  to  the  solu- 
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personal  expenditure  and  the  like. 

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modem  change — a  work  which  all  persons  engaged  in 
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DR.    JOSIAH    STRONG'S 
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OUR  COUNTRY :  Its  Possible  Future  and  its 
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GOD  AND  MUSIC 

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A  study  of  the  relations  between  God  and 
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tation to  religious  life  and  work.  Dr. 
Edwards  has  treated  this  subject  in  a  schol- 
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points  of  view  as  well  as  in  its  theological 
aspects. 

A  New  York  editor  to  whom  the  manuscript 
was  submitted  wrote  the  author:  ** There 
was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  admire  and 
wonder  at  the  cogency,  beauty,  and  elab- 
orateness of  the  argument.  It  will  bring 
its  author  deserved  fame. ' ' 

Another  speaks  of  the  ^'  interest  awakened  by 
its  originality  and  eloquent  presentation." 

The  Baker  &  Taylor  Co.,  Publishers 

33-37  East  17th  St.,  Union  Sq.  North,  New  York 


Princeton  Theological   Seminary   Libraries 


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E     CREED     OF 
PRESBYTERIANS 


BY 

Rev.  EGBERT  W.  SMITH,  D.D. 

12mo,  223  pages,  GO  cents 

The  agitation  of  the  revision  of  the  Con- 
fession has  turned  all  e^^es  on  the  Creed 
of  Presbyterians.  This  book  is  not  a 
polemic  icr  or  against  revision,  but  it  is 
an  attempt  (as  is  no  other  one  book)  to 
answer  the  questions  which  laymen  are 
continually  asking  as  to  just  what  the 
creed  itself  is,  .its  characteristics,  its 
history  and  sanction. 

JUv.  n\  M.  PAX  JON,  /).  D.,  LL.  i).,  Prcsidtni  of 
PrincvUm  Thfolot/iail  S(ini)mry,  cx-Modcuitorof  the. 
JSoYiht^n  Prif^hiiitrian  Otvirol  Ass^whhj, inj>»ciff.fitmg 
forhj  ropi'S  io  ihe  wtmhere  of  his  Scnii^r  Ckanf,  said  :^ 

"J  canKot  Fpfak  of  it  in  tnjDS  too  hi^U,     It  is 
the  best  tiling  I  lave  ever  seen  on  ihe  jii)5jict,  and 

lUv  P>  M.  TJIUEJI.  D  IK,  LL.  D  .  Pcs'or  First 
rrfshtjierimi  Chweh,  j\cio  Orkniis,  l.o,  ix  liyderator 
o/  the  f^on!ht:hn  Pvfihxstvricn  Cinerai  As^f^vhUy  : 
'  '  A  ]>rJc.'U.'K8  Kift  t'.>  Ti)e  <';innc-h  ?.t  lbi>  f-reisetit 
r.mo  Brief,  t<auv'ft<r,  fiJal  ^--hnrply  to  tli«  v.on^r  ,  , 
it  i*>  bonnd  to  Rtfru(!t  tiivniiaiidsj  <>/  r«--«(l*  Jf*  nn-i  do 
Kood  -vvhi^nn-er  \i  «.i!etil»tf  s,  1  ^hoXl  rasH'<*  an  effutt 
to  ]|»!aei;  it  in  cvtry  family  in  xay  congregaiiou," 


THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  CO.,  Pubiishers 

S3-37  East  17th  St. ,  Union  Sq.  N.  New  York 


